Giants decision makers talk about Panda’s weight, Crick, Law, Gaudin, left field and more

I was on a flight the other night when the Giants re-introduced Ryan Vogelsong, so instead I tuned in tonight for the #SFGLive production. First of all, I’ve been on the beat for two years and I don’t think I’ve ever seen Bruce Bochy with absolutely no facial hair. But that’s not the point of this; here are some of the highlights from the session between 100 season-ticket holders and Larry Baer, Brian Sabean, Bobby Evans and Bochy:

— MC Kuiper to Bochy: “Do you believe the pictures of Pablo are really him?” Someone (Sabean, I think) interrupted and said that Sandoval is down to 245 pounds, which would be well below the weight he was at late last season. Said Bochy: “Pablo will be in good shape, trust me. He knows what a big year this is.” #contractyear

— Sabean was asked about Chad Gaudin and mentioned the existing bullpen candidates and Gaudin’s late-season injuries. “It may be a stretch that he’s in a Giants uniform,” Sabean said.

— Sabean on Yusmeiro Petit, who is playing winter ball: “This guy has been around the block. He reminds me so much in a different way of Vogelsong – he just loves the game. He’s a fearless kid and he’s just very centered as a person.”

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— Bochy answered a Twitter question from someone named [Bochy Noises]

— Evans said Juan Perez is having a lot of success in winter ball and “is going to come in and try to be in the mix with (Gregor) Blanco in left field.” Perez is hitting .295 in the Dominican Winter League with a .365 OBP, seven doubles and nine stolen bases in 112 at-bats. I’m betting he has probably crashed into a wall or two, as well.
— A lot of scouts believe Kyle Crick is better suited for a ninth-inning role, so I thought it was interesting that Sabean even brought that up: “He might get to the big leagues sooner as a reliever, but in a perfect world we want him to be one of our future starters,” he said. Crick’s main problem right now is that he just didn’t throw many innings this year, and Sabean said they hope to get him near 135 next season.

— Sabean on the Tims: “I don’t know if we sign Tim Hudson without having Timmy (Lincecum) here … One of the reasons we were hell bent so early to sign Timmy — and we’re not being given much credit right now for early Christmas shopping and preemptive spending — Timmy we knew what he could bring to the table. Our greatest fear was if he got on the market, would we be able to chase him. The answer was probably no because we wanted shorter contracts. It would have been really tough for me as GM and as an organization to start free agency with two starters; I don’t care how good the two starters are. By having Lincecum … (Hudson) saw our situation as being in many ways not broken.”

— Sabean on the minor league pitchers: “If we believe in our young pitching, which is the next wave coming, it’s probably going to take about two years to develop them properly and have these (current) folks pass the baton. It was all interlinked.”

— Evans was asked to list two minor leaguers he’s really excited about and he chose Derek Law and Mac Williamson. He said Law will come to big league camp and is probably headed for Triple-A (a big step up from San Jose), and the Giants hope he’s up in the majors soon. Don’t know if I’ve written it before, but I saw Law and Williamson play for San Jose in late August; they were both extremely impressive.

— Sabean on left field: “You can’t spend the money for the sake of spending the money. You can’t go against the grain of the course you set. We determined early on from all the meetings we had that we weren’t going to get involved with any player involved with compensation picks. We pick 14th in the country and half of this team is really made up of first round picks … After we signed Pence, we didn’t think it was in the best interest of the organization to sign another long-term contract.”

And later, “In time we’ll figure it out.”

Alright, winter meetings start Monday and I’ll have full coverage here. You can follow along on Twitter, too: @AlexPavlovic

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Good, news! lol, just kidding! Wow, some new news. Kinda. I like the Perez part! I’m rooting for him. I hope Petit doesn’t fatigue his arm too much, we’ve seen what shortened off-seasons can do to pitchers. We may need it. Law is on a serious fast track, eh? There’s already some pressure on our young arms. Crick, feeling the weight of the franchise.

Interesting Sabean said “two” pitchers, Vogey had an option I guess they never intended to pick up? Gaudin, by inaction, has seemed a foregone conclusion for a while.

Please sort out left field. I think we all think it kinda matters. More than some one year solution would be nice. Young talent would be especially nice.

Thanks Alex! Dream, big. Dream GIANT.

avwh

Answering the Q from the old thread:
The audience Qs were definitely prescreened, and were very innocuous (by design, I’m sure).

Kuip sort of pre-empted the LF bat Q. We heard a lot about Burrell being the LF answer in 2010 only after mid season, and even how Santiago became the starting C only late in ST in 2002 because neither Estalella or Mirabelli seized the opportunity. (So the message was, be patient about LF.)

carmot

Thanks for the info. So, Kuip didn’t point out Gillespie in left field? I think I can be patient. A little. But, patience is relative. Are we talking April 2014? Or April 2016?

Ken E

Wow what great news. We will raise ticket prices while bringing back a 76 win team! Why did Sabean go out of his way to say there’s money left to sign free agents and then a week later say they’re not going to sign any? Just admit ownership is about making money and faux contention rather than being serious about winning. And by the way even the Giants are admitting our TOP prospect may be a relief pitcher so don’t just think it’s as simple as bridging a 2 year gap until reinforcements arrive from the minors. If the reason for not being willing to bid on Tanaka is about Crick, et al may want to rethink that logic.

avwh

I think they’re suggesting it might take until the trade deadline in 2014 to have a solution.

Jcosey

My take by Evans mentioning Mac is they believe he’ll be up by years nd, sooner if he impresses. With Pence and Pagan locked up there is only one spot for Mac. Just being hopeful?

Rob Pace

There are lots and lots of ways to make a par. Only 1 way to make an Eagle. The difference is aggression and luck. I’d rather the front office have less faith in luck.

Moooooooooose

Tell the truth. Last year at this time you wanted BJ Upton and Josh Hamilton. Admit it.

JStreet

They’re not playing golf.

NoShame09

“Mac Willy, Willy Mac”? Just saying…

Vegas Giants Fan

I’ve said before that the Giants will be in a better position to make trades when their young pitchers have another year under their belt in the minors. The one’s who have excellent seasons will see their trade value increase greatly, allowing the Giants to make trades from a position of strength rather than weakness, where they currently stand.

Vegas Giants Fan

I should have mentioned this also pertains to our young position players like Panik, Susac, Williamson, and to a lesser extent players like Gary Brown, Matt Duffy, Jeff Arnold and Adam Duvall.

Vegas Giants Fan

The Rockies converted Charlie Culberson from a 2nd baseman into a left fielder the last 2 months of last season. Culberson did pretty well in his 47 games in left. Overall he hit .293/2/12 in August and September. In September he hit .370.( only one error) I know some of you probably don’t care but others may find this interesting. To me it explains why the Rockies had so much interest in acquiring Culberson from the Giants.

Vegas Giants Fan

A Q&A with Clayton Blackburn at milb.com

dgg

Thanks, Alex! “Sabean on the Tims” was most interesting. Sounds like Tim + Tim = win-win for the team.

Something else that Sabean said:

“We determined early on from all the meetings we had that we weren’t going to get involved with any player involved with compensation picks.”

is something that Sabean said from the outset of the offseason, and yet, fans continue to talk about players the Giants could get if the Giants would give up the compensation pick. I’ve gotten to the point where I skip over those comments because it’s the drumbeat of something that will not happen. If a FA involves a compensation pick, I don’t bother to read about him or think about what he could bring to the Giants, because that guy is not coming on board.

Foothills Ryan

I’m in the spirit of confessionals, so I’m not ashamed to admit floating those two names around last year as intriguing options to enhance the team. Boy was I wrong. I’ll probably be wrong about Ubaldo Jimenez and Shin Soo Choo, amongst others, this year.

DrLefty

I agree. Great 2014 draft class and a good pick at #14, plus a weak free agent class. That adds up to “no thanks,” in my book. And it’s not the Giants’ MO to go after the Robinson Cano, Albert Pujols, Prince Fielder monster contract types. Given how most of those work out, I’m glad it’s not.

(I must admit, I do still think wistful thoughts about Anibal Sanchez, though. He was a very appealing and relatively affordable FA last year, and he wouldn’t even have cost a draft pick. Ah, well.)

Foothills Ryan

Maybe it the right player was available, they would forfeit the pick. That’s how I’m reading between the lines anyway. They’re just not high enough on any FA that’s tied to the QO this year to forfeit the pick and the dough.

If this is their philosophy now, I hope they are consistent come January. Don’t punt precious farm pieces for a hail mary run later in the season. Those are draft picks that have been heavily invested in for at least two years.

Foothills Ryan

A. Sanchez and Timmy have about the same annual salary, FWIW. If it’s true they didn’t even talk to his agent last year, then that’s poor planning.

DrLefty

I don’t know that it’s just about being “right” or “wrong” about a player (though Hamilton and B.J. certainly didn’t work out last year). It’s also “right for this team right now.” Sabean clearly had/has a plan that is tightly connected to this bunch of young arms headed our way: They wanted to sign Lincecum for two years so they could sign Hudson for two years so that those two (and Vogelsong’s spot) could be bridges to the younger pitchers.

Then there’s timing. None of the bigger free agent pitchers has signed anywhere, and that’s because the Japan/Tanaka thing wasn’t resolved. Sabean had three rotation holes to fill and didn’t want to wait until December or January to be in a bidding war for Ubaldo or Santana or Garza. That’s a lot of empty rotation spots.

DrLefty

I agree with that, too. I’m hoping Sabean learned from the experience of giving up Wheeler for a two-month rental of Beltran. They don’t have a lot of good trade chips at the moment (and I agree with VGF below that in a year or so, that could change for the better), so better not spend them unless it’s for something really good. No panic moves.

DrLefty

I’m sure that was economics. Think about how much they were already into their 2013 starting rotation for. Three pitchers over $20 mil., Bumgarner’s contract growing over the years. And they were on the verge of a huge deal for Buster. It IS too bad, but when you put it in context, I get it.

Foothills Ryan

Thing they need to develop is depth. Like having 7 starters, and 3 are are prospects with big league experience. Something like what the Cards have going. Positional depth would be great too.

DrLefty

That would be good for the bullpen, too. I’m encouraged to hear that Law is being fast-tracked. The Cardinals did great last year with bringing young pitchers up and using them in the bullpen.

carmot

Oh dear. I read this article, and it made me think of how Vernon Wells could be our LF platoon guy. Older veteran, castoff from current and two previous teams, had some power a few years ago…

Sadly, it’s not like he still hits well of lefties. Nah. I sure hope we aren’t going this way… oh nooooooo.

DrLefty

…and speaking of depth, I am still scratching my head a bit about them giving up on Peguero so abruptly. (Baltimore’s already picked him up.) Fewer than 40 big league plate appearances scattered over three call-ups. Serious injury that derailed his 2013 season in AAA. Maybe there’s not much potential there, but it just seems a bit hasty given their profound lack of outfielders at the moment. I wonder who the heck’s going to play OF in Fresno this year. Brown? Kieschnick? And…?

carmot

I was wondering about this very same thing yesterday. I think maybe Jarrett Parker or Javier Herrrera. Maybe?

Foothills Ryan

Parker, Javier Herrera, and some scrap heaper.

Foothills Ryan

Based on personnel in hand and potential for additional moves, this is an early look at what may be in store in the National League next year. Giants seem content with being overlooked and going into the season as underdogs. More power to them.

Early divisional favorites:

Dodgers, Cardinals, Nationals

Leading Wild Card Contenders/Divisional Challengers:

Pirates, Reds

Aspiring Wild Card Clubs:

Braves, Giants, Diamondbacks, Phillies

Rebuilders:

Mets, Cubs, Rockies, Padres, Brewers, Marlins

carmot

I think A+/AA level prospects are much more valuable than almost any draft pick outside of a top-10 overall. Aren’t there about 40 rounds in the MLB Draft? We’ve done that every year. But we got only one Edwin Escobar right now.

The amount that will wash out, makes our successes all the more valuable. Plus the serious cost-savings of pre-arb through arb salaries of prospects. I’m not a fan of trading prospects for one full year or two full years of a player- unless they are an absolute game-changer. But then they’ll take 2-3 of those elite prospects. And, using Price or Cliff Lee as examples, they often come with hefty salaries attached. Yikes.

Yeah. Trade wisely. Or the draft pick is easier to forfeit if the player really fits.

carmot

I do think Jose Reyes would’ve been a fascinating signing for us at the time. His skill set fit so well.

Foothills Ryan

Yes. Above is the reason why I don’t get overly excited about guys like Kendry Flores, Ty Blach, A. Mejia, Martin Agosta, and Clayton Blackburn. They still have to survive the big surf and avoid washout.

The Oracle

The Mariners offer Cano 9 years and $225 million, Jay-Z turns it down, the M’s owner explodes and says forget the whole thing, leaving Cano with only the Yankees as a serious option. Brilliant negotiating on both sides. Jay-Z saved the Mariners from themselves. They owe him one.

Latest on Twitter is that talks between Ms and Cano are NOT dead. This is all a little too TMZ for my tastes.

carmot

Yeah. I understand an organizational top-10 prospect ranking has to have, umm, ten players. But the idea of some 17 year-olds that haven’t even played pro ball is silly. Or guys like these that aren’t yet battle-tested. IMO, Escobar, Susac, Hembree, and Hall are more valuable for this reason.

I do like the *potential* of a few of these guys. Flores seems like a standout. Clayton for his MLB-readiness. Martin and Ty for their control. Time will tell.

DrLefty

I’d mostly agree with that except keep an eye on the Reds. So far they’re most likely losing Arroyo and Choo and making noises about trading Phillips. They have a new manager, and say what you will about Dusty, his players love him and he knows how to manage a winning team.

Also, I don’t believe the Phillies belong on any of those lists. They’re not good enough to be an “aspiring wild card,” and they’re not even in a position to rebuild. They just keep signing 30-something free agents, trading their good prospects, and extending their own 30-something players. For all your jabs at Sabean, Ruin Tomorrow is a LOT worse. Just ask any Phillies fan, and those folks know their baseball.

carmot

Yeah, seems like a bad fit overall. M’s need to take a page from the A’s, I’d think. Overall quality, less of the “elite” players. That 100% upcharge for superstars isn’t good for their building process.

Oh, BTW, the Yomiuri Giants are interested in Jason Bay. lol.

Foothills Ryan

I’ll be Ruben goes after a pitcher. Jimenez?? He’s gonna spend and try to “go for it” with his vets.

DrLefty

Well, they definitely need some pitchers. Lee and Hamels are terrific, but after that, crickets. They hardly even have any starters on their 40-man roster. (I know, Kendrick, but meh.)

carmot

Agree, Phillies is a tough one. The Cubs might be 2 years away from their super team, but watch out for them. They’ll have some moves that will make them better. And some young talent maybe coming up in 2014.

I think labeling the Rockies and Marlins as “rebuilders” might be offensive to other rebuilders. The Rox traded away Fowler and a PTBNL for a defensive CF and a meh starter. lol.

Brewers? They were actually pretty good- even with the losses of Braun and Hart. Until they decided they didn’t want to be (draft pick?). With a couple pitchers and Khris Davis playing full-time, they *might* actually finish 2nd in the NL Central.

carmot

Really, your fixation on Jimenez, why? Phillies want to *hope* they have a shot. But the reality isn’t looking so good for them IMO.

They just don’t seem capable of making the couple of brilliant moves they’d need to. Gee, wonder why that is? What’s that Gm’s name again Lefty? lol.

Moooooooooose

After those back to back World Series Championships (both won in March), the Nats are coming back for more!

carmot

Rosenthal is all over this. TMZ, you say? As in “Too Much Jay-Z?” Wonder how those talks got re-started… M’s CEO Lincoln: “How about we start over?” lol.

Moooooooooose

Never ever EVER trade a top prospect. Not Zach Wheeler, not Tim Alderson, not Sid Finch. They might turn out to be something and your fan base will never forget. In fact, don’t trade anybody. Ever. One of them might turn out to be something, too. That involves risk. Don’t take risks. Ever.

Has anybody checked out M’s fan boards? I’m curious if they’re even liking the idea of this. I’d guess not, but dunno.

Michael Scott

It’s not neccesarily any one kid to be excited about, it’s the volume of promising young pitchers in the system that’s exciting-the most I can remember in at least a couple decades.

carmot

Oh dear. 10/240M is done.

I think I figured out what all went wrong. Jay-Z walked into the room and asked Lincoln for an A-Rod contract. Which is wrong on so many levels. Then, Cano asked for his jersey #24.

After they got past these “misunderstandings” things were alright. Mariners. Who would’ve thought. smh.

Michael Scott

From what I’ve seen, it’s been mostly negative, not that it matters either way.

The Oracle

How long until the Mariners regret this?

carmot

Is the ink dry?

carmot

Hmm. Okay, thanks. I guess it’s not like their previous decisions have been all that great anyways. I mean Jason Bay, Chone Figgins, Milton Bradley come to mind.

Slide Dog

Agree with that. I’ll put the Braves as division favorite and the Nats as a wild card team. My candidate for a spoiler …the Rockies. Just a little pitching and they’re a dangerous team.

carmot

The Rockies *should* be dangerous. I mean, their lineup is still pretty incredible (even without Fowler). But most of their pitching is junk. And their owner is just a joke. I agree, “just a little pitching,” but I don’t figure on them going out and getting it.

Slide Dog

Lefty, Petersen to UW … looks like the Dub got the best of that transaction. Don’t be surprised to see a contender in Seattle soon.

Michael Scott

You asked about the fan boards. They *don’t* matter. BTW, I’ve seen every SF “fan board” all over Figgins and Bay at one time or the other, Bay in particular.

DrLefty

SC interviewed Petersen last weekend before finalizing with Sark. It was the second of two interviews with him and apparently neither went well. They decided it wasn’t a fit. Petersen reportedly was pushing hard to get the SC job, though. In any case, good for him; UW pays really well.

DrLefty

Alderson wasn’t a “top” prospect. That was one Madison Bumgarner. Bum was the #10 pick in the 2007 draft, and Alderson was a sandwich pick. Wheeler, a top 10 pick, is comparable to Bum, not Alderson. Imagine what we’d think if they’d traded Bumgarner instead of Alderson for Freddy Sanchez back in 2009.

Foothills Ryan

Cano? So what. The big signing is the O’s picking up my boy, Francisco Peguero on a Major League Deal. Just glad Pegs will be wearing the Black & Orange somewhere. Go Pegs! Show Sabes what he’ll be missin’ !

On another note, while Sabes was sleepin’ – Ryan Webb was also signed by the O’s for pretty cheap.

What else? Grandy Man to the Mets … whatevs.

DrLefty

The Braves/Nats thing last year was a head-scratcher. The Nats should have been better. The Braves ran away with the division but it always seemed like smoke and mirrors to me. They were never impressive when they played the Giants, and I thought they looked awful in the NLDS against the Dodgers.

At this point, they look to be worse next year–they’ve lost McCann and Hudson walked. And they don’t really have money to spend, either, because so many key players (Heyward, Freeman, Kimbrel) are due for big arbitration raises.

Meanwhile, the Nats upgraded big time from Dan Haren to Doug Fister. I guess this is why you play the games.

DrLefty

The Marlins are sneaking up a bit. They still have Stanton and actually landed a free agent (Salty). And that young pitching…

Agree with you on the Rox, though. Hello last place again.

carmot

One thing that absolutely fascinates me is the question of whether everything is transferable. The “what if’s,” if you will. Would Jose Bautista have put up his prolific productivity, if he were a Giant? If Tim Alderson had stayed with our farm, could we have gotten him to produce better?

I mean to say… What if Madison Bumgarner never met Horacio Ramirez (in Fresno) and never learned that cutter? Just something to ponder, for sure.

DrLefty

Yeah, here we are wondering not only who’s going to play LF for the Giants but who might be the outfield for the GRIZZLIES.

Meanwhile, other teams are paying money for outfielders we thought weren’t good enough–Nate, Cody Ross…now Peguero. I know Pegs hasn’t arrived like the first two, but–you know, Nate or a healthy Cody would be an upgrade over our current options. Just saying.

Keep’n It Real

Foothills Ryan and I posted some past MLB Draft Results and from a history standpoint…#14 picks haven’t always lit things up. Based upon what is out there in 2014…and taking into account past #14 results…what would prevent you as a GM *not* to go out there and get a LF and give up the pick? Money is not an issue. Just curious if people out here in GE Land would give up the pick based upon the data.

Michael Scott

Thanks. Time for folks to get over Cano. Are they forgetting that the A’s got Punto?

DrLefty

No, that’s a great point. That said, Bum was a blue chipper from the beginning. Look at his stats in Augusta and San Jose. Ridiculous. What’s impressive about him is that he keeps trying to make his game better, good as he already is.

This past year made me a huge Bum fan. He was always good but always in the shadows of Big Time Timmy Jim, “Mr. Perfect” Cain, Mr. Hollywood Narrative Vogey, and even #RallyZito.

I’m so impressed not only with Bum’s obvious talent but with his makeup (intense competitor) and work ethic (always trying to get better). And that little bit of country red-a** in him just makes him a bit more fun, too.

carmot

Actually, I decided it would be interesting to look at this from a reverse angle. How much value do the M’s need to look for. I can’t stand WAR, but here I am using it. I’m trying to account for inflation in salaries and WAR value. Total is 10/240M- 35.2 WAR.

We don’t know what the current options are. As to Nate- he was an integral piece in the Pence trade.
Pegs? Who knows? He had 8 years in our system, it’s hardly like he had no chances. It’s helpful to keep in mind that his Fresno numbers were very mediocre by PCL standards.

DrLefty

I meant a Blanco/Perez platoon by “current options.” Of course, I don’t know what else might be out there via trade (etc.).

I’ve decided it would be best for everyone if Gary Brown pulled his head out of his rear end and became our everyday third outfielder. Neat, clean, easy. Get ‘er done, Brownie!

carmot

I believe the 2014 draft is deeper than usual. There are surely 7-8 top players picked above us. Then, there are 8-12 players that could be really interesting, and who’s left at #14 depends on picks above us (obviously). But talent will still remain for us to choose from. I just don’t see Granderson or Cruz as all that interesting- draft pick, pool money, and QO or not. If we had a shot at a 30 year-old Justin Masterson or 29 year-old Jose Reyes I’d be interested. No talent is worth the pick this year IMO.

Granderson has signed with the Mets. As for Cruz, I don’t think I’d want him anyway, but no way the Giants are signing a PEDs ex-con this soon after Melky.

primafacie

“Sabean was asked about Chad Gaudin and mentioned the existing bullpen candidates and Gaudin’s late-season injuries.”

===

Not to mention pending legal issues in Las Vegas, if I recall.

carmot

Pretty nice 24 hours for Astros fans. Dexter Fowler and Scott Feldman. Both really nice moves. Some great young talent- I can’t wait to see George Springer. And of course, likely will pick Carlos Rondon in next year’s draft.

Michael Scott

It’s horrible policy to shut out every young outfielder in the system for minimum 3 years by locking up LF with another long term deal. And it doesn’t matter what one thinks of the OFers in the system, it sends the wrong message to every youngster in the system. The way they handled the Tims sent the right message. I’m betting a prune danish that in 2015 we’ll all be thankful that a door was left open for Williamson.

carmot

USA in Group G 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Ghana, Germany, and Portugal.

Ouch. Good luck though.

Michael Scott

The killer was this statement:
“It may be a stretch that he’s in a Giants uniform,” Sabean said.

Keep’n It Real

Fair point…but I think kids now adays know they are also playing for spots on other teams via trades. Players are commodities far more than in past eras.

I get the idea of depth, and value it. But why our own guys don’t even get a look at MLB, sometimes it leaves me confounded.

Michael Scott

It’s interesting that after a period of extreme disappointment and even after a poor AAA season, there’s renewed interest in Gary as a legit prospect. He showed flashes of power that was unexpected and his defense and speed are still valuable assets. I’d think he’ll get a lot of playing time in the desert.

carmot

Do you recall that story Krukow retold once a long while back? IIRC… In Bumgarner’s first ever Little League game, he was batting when a pitch hit his pitching hand. It ripped his (thumb?) nail right off. His father was his coach. He asked, “you’re not going to take me out of the game, are you Dad?”

Gosh, that tells everything I needed to hear. Dude is nails. lol

Foothills Ryan

You, sir, are welcome. Good signing, that Punto de his own madre.

Vegas Giants Fan

Cano agrees to a 10 year – 240M contract with the Mariners. MLB Network.

Michael Scott

You aren’t talking about the same thing. Blocked is “forget it, the hotel is booked for 3 years.”
And it’s a common misperception that they don’t know about these guys unless they’re trotted out there for a month. There’s hardly been an exodus of young guys who the team blew it on. The lesser the prospect, the less time he has to prove them wrong about him. It’s that way everywhere.

Foothills Ryan

Eventually the Giants will develop an outfielder they drafted, right? One can hope. They need Brown to back up CF. And they need Williamson to back up a corner. Even if they both hit below .250, at least they’ll have cost control.

Foothills Ryan

beware the fish, indeed.

Foothills Ryan

They need to run some risk analysis.

What are the chances that #14 pick becomes a big league regular within 4 years. Less than 50% for sure. Less than 30% I’m pretty sure. Then what are the chances he becomes as good as one of the top free agents. It gets real slim then, <10%.

If the price was right on Choo, you'd guarantee one of the most productive offensive players in baseball in your outfield. His OBP skill is legitimate. He does it every year. That's the kind of thing that makes an offense go.

avwh

Las Vegas wasn’t mentioned, of course, but when Sabean said that, I immediately thought ” this is about more than injuries”.

Michael Scott

They need Williamson to start in LF. In 2015. And I think he’s why Sabean isn’t going after a big splash in LF. Williamson’s stock is on the move. Up.

Foothills Ryan

BOOM! Just go for it! FTW !

Choo-Belt-Pence-Posey-Sandoval-Pagan-Scutaro-Crawford-Pitcher

Score some runs and support that middle of the pack looking rotation.

Foothills Ryan

It’s on the move up, but Brown had a higher OPS at San Jose. Thomas Neal and Roger Kieschnick had higher or same ballpark OPS, so excercise some caution with farm hand projections.

channelclemente

Interlinked = bridge.

Foothills Ryan

Do you play pinochle also?

channelclemente

Now who’s POV should one listen to, Sabean or Foothills.

channelclemente

Spades, Hearts, and seven card stud.

channelclemente

Don’t you think Sandoval is fungible right after next year. Whether he goes, or stays just depends.

Foothills Ryan

No cribbage?

channelclemente

I don’t feel 3B is blocked any longer, any thought on who might dislodge Sandoval?

Foothills Ryan

Duvall. Which is an iffy proposition.

channelclemente

Absolutely not. Focus lad. I won the college spades tournament, why would I switch. It is true, I no long play for blood, take your most treasured possessions, or carry. I’m older, and wiser now.

Foothills Ryan

It would be in the holiday spirit of spending over budget. Like the Lexus ads annoyingly suggest: A December to remember.

It would also give the offense a nice kick in the pants. Which reminds me of Marty Lurie’s Volvo commercial.

I drive an ’04 Mazda 4 banger pickup truck with a shell, so you’d think I’d be totally cool with Blanco and Perez in left and Vogey sweatin’ through 5.

Anyway Alex or another media member can seek comment regarding the Giants TV deal in terms of possible opt out provisions? Larry Baer is heralded as TV “savvy” because he came from CBS but he locked the Giants into a 25 year TV commitment just before local TV revenues started sky rocketing, including a recent deal for the Mariners, which is how they were able to sign Cano.

The Giants play in the 5th largest market in the U.S. and any new deal would probably be in between what the Rangers got (~$3 billion over 20 years) and what the Phillies will get in their new deal. However, there is much speculation the bubble will burst due to prices being passed down to consumers with increasing subscription fees and thus sports networks will become a La carte, thereby constricting the future of these massive deals…which means the Giants may entirely miss out on this window when their deal is up in 2561 (I kid, but 2032 is a looooong ways away).

Would love to hear someone’s perspective from people on the inside and if it looks like there’s a real possibility the Giants will miss out on billions in local TV revenue due to the timing and length of their deal. I realize their deal is a bit fluid and they share somewhat in the rights fees but it still doesn’t touch the new deals from what I understand. Sorry to stray away from the rosterbation but I find the business of baseball extraordinarily interesting and regardless of what you think of it the business of baseball has a monumental impact on the eventual roster construction (just ask the blue balls down south about that one or those managing the Giants “rainy day” fund).

Michael Scott

I’ve seen them all and have a pretty fair idea on evaluating players both from watching them and from scouting reports, numbers, etc. I like Williamson very much. Thanks for your input.

carmot

Yes, a bit. I look at it as a partial re-allocation of funds. You know, part of the cost of doing business as a cellar dweller. A slight overpay for being bad. In other words: $6M of this helped get them two #1 picks in Mark Appel and Carlos Correa. And the previous year they got George Springer in the first round.

Oh yeah, and Carlos Rondon.

Michael Scott

“Don’t you think Sandoval is fungible right after next year.”
No.

carmot

I follow a bit of the business of baseball stuff too. What I’ve learned is this deal is very private, nobody leaks anything about it. I’d figure the Giants are lucky if they’re getting $60-ish mil/year in total (from $40M plus a 30% revenue share). Nobody seems to know if there is a re-opener clause after 12 or 15 years (common landmarks for such). Recent words from Giants brass might suggest there are some escalator clauses, but how much? Dunno.

It was bad timing. Giants were bad when the deal was signed. But the ballpark was new-ish. True, tv deals weren’t near where they’re at today. I figure the upfront contract bonus money went straight into the Rowand contract. Whoops.

We can look elsewhere, the ballpark debt is gone soon. And the $40M+ that every single team got from the MLB sale of the Expos/Nats went straight into a holding account for each team. To my knowledge, the Giants haven’t tapped that- just another portion of their Rainy Day Fund.

ClutchUp

Bad Hamstrings on the West Coast.

carmot

Yeah, I’m just sure he loves playing on astroturf.

channelclemente

I think he’s on a bubble of sorts. He just not the player he ought to be, or he was hoped to be. Certainly not because of an absence of real talent, but because he behaves as if he’s a carnival act and not a professional athlete. Even if he comes around, and manages his health properly, can he be trusted through a long contract to do so.

ClutchUp

you should get out more and just sit and watch/throw the roster program away and watch.

ClutchUp

the biggest what if in baseball…transfering skills that sparkle on backfields/sidefields/bullpens and lower level games into the SHOW. “Many are called, Few are chosen”

channelclemente

It’s actually from the 8th to 11th largest market (depending on what measure you use) in the US, not the 5th. You should look at the provisions of the contract, Baer has a reasonably sweet deal, IMO.

Not sure where you get 8th to 11th, it’s not just SF, it’s the entire TV market which includes Oakland, San Jose, etc.

ClutchUp

WAR=Bunko=Ask Jack Morris=the guy replacing a good/above good player is always crap. It’s a made-up-noodle-head stat.

channelclemente

He may be your, but he’s not my Hank Schulman. Look under the market numbers from reputable sources, it’s been tossed around here under the rubric of the Giants as a midmarket team. They are at the top of the second tertile, but not in the first among MLB teams.

ClutchUp

“clean” ?

Michael Scott

Well, your opinion seems to be the default take on him. I’m not to going to comment other to say it’s the wrong take-IMO.
Besides, ever since my wife said I was fungible after she got her Christmas present, I’ve a had an extreme dislike for the word.

channelclemente

CU, it’s actually quite useful, if used properly. It’s the ‘properly’ that usually the question.

Well there is that ‘unlikely’ issue, huh. Indirectly, I think his knees and other impact sensitive joints are going to end his career 5 years before they had to. Unless he gets pie eyed and finds another young lady.

The newest lady…the one in the 2012 WS parade float car…has a hold of Panda’s jewels….”Behind every GOOD man, there’s a good lady, and it’s not always his wife…”

ClutchUp

he shouldnt have gone to TOR either. I was just saying that certain players who grew up in their homeland weather should avoid places. NY was barely ok for Reyes. SF/TOR=No. He has asymptomatic issues.

ClutchUp

I applaud your resilience You have to deal with ____ every year who miss-place SF’s spot in the “Market Order”

Michael Scott

Since Spring training is but a couple months away and as far as any of us know he’s been on a self imposed training regimen since mid-2013 ( and it showed in his performance ), I don’t see the continuing trashing of him. He sure ain’t “fungible” by anyone in the system any time soon.If they did let him walk after 2014- hardly a given- it will cost big bucks for a replacement. Now- back to trashing Blanco.

carmot

And market size isn’t the only factor. Can’t recall where I read this, maybe Forbes? But the Los Angeles market was considered one of the lowest (maybe 23rd?) in MLB viewership, maybe it was 2010 or 2011. Before most of their ‘big moves’ and all.

I’m not trashing him, I think he has enormous talent. But Pablo can’t seem to manage Pablo. Here’s hoping he’s matured, or at least developed a taste for money.

channelclemente

Let’s hope so for all our sakes.

pacman68

So Perez/Blanco platoon in left. No Closer, 2 starters who had terrible years. Another starter coming off a broken leg…A absolutely horrendous bench.
Awesome!!!!

Thank god the Diamondbacks are complete morons, The Padres are the padres and hope that Gibson continues to destroy the Diamondbacks.

Dodgers win the west going away.

channelclemente

I take heart in your opinion Pac, given your track record, you’ve just doomed the Dodgers.

pacman68

I hope so.

pacman68

And Sabean wants no part of the guy that pretty much saved our bullpen and did a great job filling in the rotation.

Michael Scott

But not as fungible as you presume. The 10th best third baseman in baseball is worth a lot of money. And his stock may fall-or soar-in 2014. I wouldn’t be so unrelentingly negative about him and the prospect of him being here for a few more years.

ClutchUp

I love authentic Giant fans :>)
The game is not played on paper, blog sites etc. Toronto was supposed to dominate in 2013.

ClutchUp

carpal tunnel issues remain…

pacman68

One positive thing that Sabean said was bringing Crick up for the bullpen. That’s the way to learn from the Cardinals. Good job Sabs.

pacman68

Every season we have to talk about his weight. That’s a problem. Trade the dude and get something for him. He will always be fat and hurt. Sell high.

Sole Creation

Pacman, you’re the scrooge of the season bro. We said bye to Pegs because Perez absolutely dazzled in his short time with us and I love the kid, think we’ll be fine with both him & Blanco in LF. Romo and Hembree as the final innings punch doesn’t get you hyped? Since Gaudin prob gone, so great we have Petit still.

On a different note, I heard late night radio show Loveline the other night and a minor league baller called in. He didn’t say his team of course and kept anon on his ID as he should, but said that he was smoking too much ganja and that he’s getting depressed. No joke, said he was able to handle it previous season but said it caught up with him and is affecting his career. I couldn’t help but to think that it might be Gary Brown. He’s from LA area, most callers to the show are from that area as well so this.

pacman68

You do have a valid point CU. But what did we learn from last year? Platoons don’t work. One little injury and the team falls in the crapper. The team is a straw house dude.

carmot

This free agent market has spun out of control. Granderson signs for 4/60M. In your opinion, would Pence have been able to get 6/125M?

Michael Scott

No kidding.

Michael Scott

Don’t talk about him then. That’s more tiring than his weight issues.

ClutchUp

Beetle Bailey was goofed on when they moved the venue from old Honolulu Stadium to Aloha Stadium. I saw Lamar (Pirates) play in the islands in 1986 (man among children). Bob Beetle Bailey was the Islanders last Skipper before el foldo.

How much of a problem is it to wait until Spring training? And it’s utter nonsense to presume they won’t go hard for him if he does show up in good shape and has a big year.

pacman68

The Beard signs with Dodgers for 10 Mill.

channelclemente

No problem in waiting at all, I would. But I’d do it from an entirely different ultimate negotiating posture. Pablo can’t be trusted to adhere to one of the simplest givens of a professional athlete. So any new contract has provisions that address that trust issue.

Michael Scott

If he shows up fit in 2014 after undergoing his own conditioning regimen at home, the brass is going to be a lot impressed than you think.
BTW, being in condition isn’t just about weight. Posey wasn’t in shape for 2013, Tim’s double pink slime diet affected him in both 2012 and 2013 (even after he abandoned the diet), Pagan’s hammy could be attributed to conditioning, etc. All of those guys were more responsible for last year’s disaster than Panda was.

ClutchUp

:>) Where ya been?

Foothills Ryan

Welkommen!

Foothills Ryan

Serious.

Foothills Ryan

Funny post. Thanks!

Foothills Ryan

And the Phillies weren’t expected to compete and they didn’t. Just another side of the coin.

Foothills Ryan

I’m starting to believe your assertion about the Giants being a ‘mid-market’ club, because they are playing it like one.

Foothills Ryan

Hmmmm, Pence for 5/90 and Grandy for 4/60. That actually seems fair for Grandy and the Mets given the ‘fairness’ of the Pence deal.

Foothills Ryan

He needs to step up his game. Who we got from the DR?

channelclemente

If you look at that BI article, the Giants are right on the regression line. If you accept that they’re ‘rational’ in a market sense, then that indeed is their view of themselves.

Foothills Ryan

Right in the middle of the NL pack with potential to climb and slip.

channelclemente

It’s no the pack so much, as being dead on the regression line in the middle of the pack. The mark of an executive who understands his niche in the tribal entertainment market.

ClutchUp

Sergio Romo was REALLY good on the Ray Woodson Hot Stove Show last night…

Remember how Dennis the Menace looked when he got bundled up for the cold? Well, that’s me as I venture to market. 17 degees this morning. Call 911 if I’m not back posting in 2 hours.Or let me freeze to death.

ClutchUp

you’re giving us a choice ?

Foothills Ryan

It’s time for a diva GM poll (get your dancing shoes on). Which of the following hypothetical situations is in the best interest of club? ‘Best interest’ has something to do with the balance of winning now, satisfying fans, bolstering the roster while its in its prime and not mortgaging the future with wild speculation. Are you ready? Here it goes:

A.) Trade for a right handed platoon partner for Gregor Blanco. Perez is the 5th OF. Give up a less than vital farm piece, like Eric Surkamp for Drew Stubbs or Ryan Raburn from CLE. Stubbs or Raburn would cost 3-4 mil in salary.

B.) Upgrade Blanco with a bigger trade. Sticking with Cleveland, let’s say Michael Brantley is available. He’s established as a good everyday outfielder. The cost would be more considerable in prospects. Let’s just say it would take Escobar and Williamson to pry him loose. Brantley is also arb eligible for the first time and could be making around 2 mil next year and maybe upwards of 10 mil in 2016.

C.) Sign Shin Soo-Choo to a 5/110 million dollar deal and forfeit the draft pick. You get an impact player in the lineup who plays good defense at a corner outfield position. Think Melky Cabrera on steroids as far as potential lineup impact. No farm pieces lost other than some hyped 18 year old next year. The outfield is resolved for 2-3 years depending on Pagan’s health and performance.

D.) Sign Mike Morse for 6-8 mil to take 3 ABs/game then ceding LF to Blanco/Perez in the later innings.

I think more than a slight upgrade when you figure he has splits fitting for a platoon (very productive vs. RHP’s). More successful base threat. Can still play all three OF positions. Not much loss on defense. Much more upside. If Blanco makes $1.8M this year and $2.6M next year… Good upgrade for $6.4M IMO.

Michael Scott

Yeah, intentionally. You didn’t have to bother asking. I have you down for
“freeze, diva”

channelclemente

Market size is a population driven numeric issue. The US Census drives that, metaphorically speaking, not ratings. The $$$ are spent on the basis of available eyeballs. We are somewhere near the top of the middle tertile. But there are a lot of ways to view it, choose yours. Here is the way Nate Silver sliced and diced the issue a few years ago.

Texans fire Kubiak as coach. Dear Gary…come work for Jed York especially since Roman will move on to a college HC job or he’ll return to the NFL. Come back.

channelclemente

Oh no, my tears fall like rain.

channelclemente

Or E…none of the above.

Michael Scott

“B” is such a lame brained idea that there’s no point in even considering the others. Brantley at AT&T would be .270-.320-.680, 5 dingers. Give up two good prospects for a miniscule upgrade on Blanco?
OK, I’ll give you “D” since it’s my idea.

To get Khris Davis included, we’d need to offer at least one of our young arms. They want to unload Aramis Ramirez, but wouldn’t have a 3B option in their system. And they have no LHB in their lineup since trading Aoki, so should really WANT Sandoval. Because we hold some leverage, I’d refrain from Escobar being an option. We could add another arm like Petit, Machi, Dunning or Kontos. Maybe switch-hitting Abreu is enticing too. Now, instead of just a (lop-sided) 2-for-2 swap, we’re adding. I want Damien Magnifico added.

It’s hard for us to understand how important cost-control is for some small market teams. Saving $12M on Ramirez, getting pre-arb arms they desperately need, a relatively cheap infield option, and Sandoval as well. We get OFFENSE: a LF solution to add to our core, solve 3B for 1 OR 2 years, and a 98-100 mph maybe starter maybe reliever maybe nothing.

Dream big. Dream GIANT.

Michael Scott

One does have to look at more than year. We could have received Mario McClouth.

Foothills Ryan

Say Clutch, the next time you swing by the offices at 24 WM Plaza, can you check to see if Sabes is awake? The Winter Meetings are next week. Remember to check underneath his desk. He could be pulling a Costanza.

Nope. With all the time I waste here, where’d I find the time for a blog. And who’d visit my blog anyways??

Michael Scott

Darn accent marks. I meant *lamé* brained, of course. So sorry…

Michael Scott

Bob never lived up to the hype but he had a pretty nice career.

Michael Scott

Bob never lived up to the hype but he had a pretty nice career.

Foothills Ryan

Hair brained or hare brained ?

Foothills Ryan

Hair brained or hare brained ?

carmot

Okee. And the scary part is that Sabean is awake, not that he might be asleep. If you catch my meaning.

carmot

Okee. And the scary part is that Sabean is awake, not that he might be asleep. If you catch my meaning.

Foothills Ryan

Having read that entry, I can see where you might see similarities. Ubaldo and “welcome 2nd/3rd place”.

Outside of Crick the arms in the minors are not flashy. They may have some pitching aptitude, but not blue chip stuff. MMV

Foothills Ryan

Having read that entry, I can see where you might see similarities. Ubaldo and “welcome 2nd/3rd place”.

Outside of Crick the arms in the minors are not flashy. They may have some pitching aptitude, but not blue chip stuff. MMV

Foothills Ryan

Like ‘Awakenings’, that catatonic state.

Foothills Ryan

Like ‘Awakenings’, that catatonic state.

Michael Scott

A LHer with command who can throw 94 is blue chip.

Michael Scott

Foots, ask somebody who might not know.

carmot

I worry about how much faith we’re putting in those arms too. I mean… Justin Fitzgerald and Chris Heston were dominant at lower levels just recently. Surkamp too. A bullpen arm like Runzler or Edlefsen also. We’re willing to look away from *some* upgrade potential this year, for a *chance* that these guys are ready to contribute/dominate in one to two years?

By 2016 and beyond we’re looking at a couple rotation slots, but then other needs pop up. And Pence and Pagan are a few years older- well, I guess all of ’em are.

Sure. There’s no chance of this plan going awry.

Michael Scott

I’m not allowed to have fans like her.

channelclemente

Well, she’s obviously carrying a torch that might thaw you out.

carmot

Oh man, I really want the Dubs to play well and beat the Rockets. Waived Demon, Douglas is a game-time decision, Iguodala still out, Kuzmic had his hand surgery, O’Neal has ligament damage in his wrist he’s playing through…

But we have The NBA’s only Perfect Starting 5. Only we don’t. Because one is hurt. And “their only weakness is health.” Except it isn’t. We also turn the ball over too much. Oh, and our bench is non-existent (see health: weakness). But sure, [the Dubs] “are the only team that can say so.”

Agreed. All “those” guys could have left. Fanatics don’t treat Full Throttle – 55 – Javy – like acquisitions but they WERE and ARE. Vogelsong also. Sabes knows what he’s doing and has a good GM’s ‘heart’.

I checked, he does have a pulse. 4 grown boys graduated from Brady-Bonds HS and he produced two more young boys with Amanda, the latest Mrs. Sabes. They should have thrown in a baby girl or labrador here and there.

Maybe he can get his 6’5 Butt into his swing. From the Chevron car to the foul pole the ball will leave the park with EASE. From Chevron car to the right = good luck. Melky caught a HR before Blanco did his magic in Cains Perfect game. The thing just whimpered and died.

ClutchUp

Nah, I’m not one. My teams have losing records, but it’s all about forming relationships/brotherhood with HS and Juco BB teams.

carmot

Clutch: one of the Bellarmine guys just signed on in Korea’s KBO: Eric Thames.

ClutchUp

Cool thanks…he bounced around after Bell-Prep and played for every Juco in his area before getting to Pepperdine. Tks for the info. Serra guys call Bell guys = PRUNES :>)

ClutchUp

After the Mandela news broke the Ali ‘camp’ produced a glowing tribute to Madiba. Obvious it broke across the screen saying it was from Muhammad Ali but that put me deep in thought as to how much longer the Great One’s health will keep him with us. He changed the landscape TONS. (Jesse Owens, Jackie, Arthur Ashe)

Yeah. Four made baskets in the quarter. On pace for 58 points in the game. Oh.

Foothills Ryan

Know any Giants prospects that can do that?

That sounds a lot like Madison Bumgarner. Hitting 94 on a hot gun is different than consistently sitting 93-95.

Foothills Ryan

Yankees to sign Beltran. 3/45. Merciless mercenary. What an offseason for the Yanks ! Just glad it ain’t the Dodgers. I’m used to Yankees doing this.

Red Sox re-upping Napoli. 2/32.

It’s like a war between those two. Giants don’t seem real interested in getting into a war with the Dodgers. Guerilla warfare, maybe.

carmot

The Mercenary finally gets to Yankee Stadium. As I expected, both McCann and [he] are now NYY’s.

Without: 3B, Tanaka, A-Rod salary/bonus included… I have NYY at almost exactly the $189M CBT threshold. They *might* be able to fill those two spots with league minimum players and still fit under. But maybe not. Depends on arb salaries like Nova, Gardner, others AND 40-man roster salaries. Payroll is $177M, but CBT amount totals $188M-ish.

Now that the posting system has been modified, I expect they blow up Plan 189 entirely.

Foothills Ryan

Ali ! Boom ba yay !

Foothills Ryan

Great human being. Not without his faults. Which makes him even more inspiring.

Say… nice avatar. You must be really feelin’ MM. Tell Sabes I said hello and that I’m only goofin’.

carmot

The difference is the Yankees really re-bounded from their potential 12+ free agents leaving. If they get Tanaka or pitching, their lineup is silly:

— Ali’s title was stripped following his refusal to be drafted to Army service on April 28, 1967…he was sentenced to five years in prison and a fine for draft evasion.

— Ali has been married four times and has seven daughters and two sons

— Ali has two other daughters, Miya and Khaliah, from extramarital relationships

“Talking trash”
Ali regularly taunted and baited his opponents—including Liston,
Frazier and Foreman—before the fight and often during the bout itself.
…..although his words were sometimes cutting and unfair,

Ali = a total scumbag not worthy to be in the same sentence as Arthur Ashe.

Chris

Sabean missed the joy of raising girls. Too bad, might have given him a better disposition.

Dodgerblue

LOL that lineup does not scare anybody. Jeter is old and washed up, McCann is a .250 hitter just like Soriano and Teixeira and Johnson the last two years has an average of .226. Now I get why you all Giants fans think Belt is a superstar LOL

BALDHEADSLIK1

Sabey Sabes will be inactive during the winter meetings trust me, Sabes is gonna go dumpster diving sometime during late march when the g’s are close to starting the season just watch.

E-B

hey all, just stopping by to catch up on our SFG’s.

I agree w/ comments about Sabes staying pat now as far as LF. Michael Scott–totally agree w/ you on them leaving the door open for BigMac. If that doesn’t work out, Sabes will likely make a move at the non-waiver trade time.

Have always, and still have some interest in Mike Morse, although, still not real sure about his D in our vast cavernous park. Would be a nice bat coming off the bench. But…if BigMac works out, maybe not needed?

re: The Bear.
For all who want to trade him, dismiss him, etc., who do you propose as his replacement. And, it’s gotta be equivalent power for power, D for D at the hot corner. Also, a switch hitter would be nice too. I do, however, completely agree w/ all the criticism of his lack of dietary discipline. Just gotta hope that he takes it upon himself to make better food choices…or should I say, limit his intake to normal quantities. I’ve always thought that Timmy and The Bear should switch dining portions for a year.

that’s all for now…have a great w/e all.

MLBSF

Let’s hope not. I can’t take another miserable year with this team. smh

Michael Scott

Dumpster diving is what he does best. Good chance a reliever, utility guy, and maybe even the LFer come from his search for outcast veterans.

MLBSF

Well I’m actually looking forward to baseball now even more so considering basketball season is over for the Warriors unless the front office makes some big moves.

This is just a god-awful team right now. When Clay isn’t making his shots, automatic loss. Every time. Awful.

They should have lost to Toronto. They were getting just smoked and they got smoked again tonight. Sadly this is a wildly overrrated team, and sooner than later, Lefty will no longer be able to baby and protect them.

Right Lefty? smh

Michael Scott

“Originally signed by the Texas Rangers, Escobar came over to the Giants in 2010. Escobar works his fastball in the low 90′s, but can dial it up to 94 mph. He adds an average curveball and changeup that show above average potential. He displays excellent command and a good feel for his pitches”

E-B

oh Carm!

remember when Aramis R. was here (as a Cub)…I think in LF?

his D was abysmal. doubt SFG would weaken D for his bat, which is legit, but our park is too large/vast, our pitchers too dependent on good solid D to trade such poor D for his bat.

but, i understand…there’s not much remaining on the free market…so just thinking out loud?

Nice post. If Panda had undertaken Timmy’s In and Out diet, Pablo would have weighed 400 by years end. Some people gain weight just looking at food.

E-B

I think ‘Stros have a few good analysts in the FO (Mike Fast, I believe, joined them), and w/ Nolan no longer w/ Rangers, you can bet that Pops Ryan will be assisting Jr. Ryan.

Will be interesting to watch their progression, and I think they will rebuilt a strong team, in time.

E-B

agree, but this market is nutso crazy…

it’s what the market will bear.

E-B

L O L !!!

Michael Scott

We seem to have a failure to communicate. I was saying you would be telling me ( the diva, as per you) to freeze..

DrLefty

The pitching coach at Richmond called Escobar a “mini-Bumgarner” this season. So if Crick is Cain 2.0 and Escobar is Bum 2.0–and we still have both the 1.0s–the future looks pretty good. Just pick Blackburn or Blach or Stratton for #5, and we’re good to go for years.

E-B

good question.

maybe by next season.

Michael Scott

I know the ball goes out well to Aurilia Plaza in LF. That’s the problem. Morse doesn’t hit many in that direction. And it’s tough to change a guy.

DrLefty

Yeah, sighhhhh. I’m worried about ’em, too. On the other hand, they’ve been so bad for so long that I’m not over being grateful that they’re at least in the conversation now. I can be patient. I’ve been patient for 20 years.

Michael Scott

You’re going to hurt yourself laughing out loud 64 times a day. Pretty soon you’ll have to burp out loud.

E-B

yah…

i particularly like the story of one of his press conferences…actually, 2 of them.

on one occasion, the press was tardy to the presser. Madi hadda wait for them. Guess what happened next time? He was punctual, but instead of going into the room, he stood outside, waiting for 5 minutes. When he entered the room, he tole ’em, “well, y’all made me wait last time, so I thought I’d make y’all wait this time.”

another presser, the press kept talking about some guy on the opposing team. After about 5 Q’s on that guy, Madi said something to the effect, “y’all like talkin’ ’bout him alot, dontcha?”

very funny.
very Madi.

E-B

totally agree on every point.
well done, as usual, Lefty.

Michael Scott

I’ll take a Dirrrrty Sanchez with command ..

E-B

totally agree, DGG.
luv your posts–so balanced & rational.

E-B

I was shocked to learn Pegs had been let go.

E-B

yah, i wanted Annibal S too, but Tigers were not about to let him go after they traded for him.

was it 5/85M? don’t think SFG would have paid him that much….but he sure would have been a nice arm for us last year.

E-B

oh Carm!

how many games has Reyes played the past 3 seasons, or should I ask, how much of the season does he spend on the DL?

It’s so good to know that both Cano & Beltran have “replacement” wh*r**d themselves out (yet again for C. MoleTran). AND we owe the dilution of the game all to the Dodger, footlong, enterprise down south…isn’t enough that you pass a bill
mandating that you can legally build pipelines to take NorCals I contaminated water (sorry if we follow smog regularities up here), but do you really have to pollute our last pure sanctity that is baseball as well?

Gosh, I really don’t like what this sport is turning into, and inevitably what it will become.

Vegas Giants Fan

I would.

dgg

What Grant Brisbee wrote about Pence reminded me of something Alex said on Twitter before Thanksgiving, which made a lot of sense.

Alex was responding to a reader (who wanted a big bat in LF) asking after the Tim Hudson deal if this was the Giants “big” acquisition? Alex responded: Hunter Pence was the “big” acquisition.

dgg, I said I had no problem with the Giants getting Scutaro from the Rockies. Without his contributions in 2012 the Giants don’t win the World Series. I just wish they could have worked out a different deal to get him. I’ve always liked Culberson and I felt the Giants gave up on him to easily. I’m glad to see him get a chance with the Rockies. (Although I hope he doesn’t do well against us.) I think everyone knows how much I follow our minor league players. I want to see these kids do well, even if it isn’t with the Giants.
There was a reason why I posted Perez’s numbers against Culberson’s. If I had left each players name blank we may have seen people asking who is this player B. I think they may have been surprised to see who it was.

Maybe the Giants could get
Timmy to teach the Panda how to work some counts. Pablo was last (3.63) amongst Giants starters in P/PA.

Shankbone

A word of caution on Stubbs: here is where he’s hit his HRs: 35 Great American; 6 Wrigley; 5 Minute Maid; 4 Progressive (CLE); 3 each in COL, PIT, SD and 2 in Miller Park.

I love OPS+ or wRC+ for getting a feel for league averages, but sometimes that park factor thing gets skewed big time. Stubbs owes much of his numbers to one of the best hitting parks in the Majors.

DrLefty

We should fix her up with my husband’s grandpa. Turned 100 in September and still lives on his own and plays golf three times a week. There WAS that hit-and-run incident with his golf cart at his retirement community, but the police dropped that when they found out how old he is.

Foothills Ryan

So the Rockies didn’t give up Scutaro for nothing. That sounds fair that they got a little out of that trade since the Giants got another ring with all the magic Scutaro brought over.

Great stuff on Stubbs. But why subtract infield fly balls? He can beat out just about anything hit between 5 & 6 and a few other places.

There’s some intrigue there, but what would Antonetti ask for from Sabean? Adrianza? Hembree?

Foothills Ryan

Follow this twitter song or thread about acquiring Ichiro. Wendy Thurm chimes in and says forget Ichiro, trade for the gardener. Greens looked pretty nice last time I checked.

ESPN wrote today about what every AL team needs to do at Winter meetings, they mentioned Twins are rebuilding ,and need pitching and should trade Josh Willingham for it. They metioned he was comming off a bad year,so Twins might not get much, yes he only hit.208 but he walked 66 times,so his OBP was .342 and hit 14 HR’s in only 108 games in a big home ballpark . He seems like a Pat the Bat clone, right handed powerhitter with a great eye, would be perfect for Giants, they could replace him for defence in the late innings with Blanco or Perez, Giants farm system is deep in starting pitching, Get him Sabean!!!

Peter Johnson

Ichiro a 40 year old left handed hitter with no power with a OBP under .300,are Josh Willingham a 34 year old right handed powerhitter with a .342 OBP who walked 66 times in only 108 games.

Michael Scott

A few more notes- Panda has his own strike zone. He will go out of it too often when he’s slumping but the last thing he needs is someone trying to change his approach.
Stubbs- he was never a good option here.
Culberson- the Giants did like him. We don’t know what went down in the trade talks. Culberson could have been the guy the Rockies wanted or no deal. But I still wish the Giants had let Marco go on his way after 2012.
Suzuki- I’m all for it- he’d be a good 5th OFer 😉
Again- don’t worry about LF- worry about the starting pitching..

Foothills Ryan

Good morning to all. Snow on the ground here. But melting fast. Starting fire in the fireplace. Need to get the hot stove goin’…

Moooooooooose

Vegas, I’ve never known you to post unfair stats, but comparing two players with less than AB each and drawing a conclusion is patently unfair with or without considering what ballparks they were hitting in.

carmot

I’m just not digging the idea of 1-year player trades. Puts us in the hole- whatever pieces we give up. And the same thing all over again next season. Sorry, Williamson might be ready, but also might not. Trading 6-7 years of service time for a player/prospect each season for one year of a mid-level talent isn’t good math IMO.

See if Stubbs can be had for Pill (to play 3B/DH) and Dunning? They got a heap o’ lefty bats (not one single RHB- they’re all switch or lefty), maybe his RH power would offset his deficiencies?

Peter Johnson

Starting pitching is set LF is not, in 2010 Giants LF’s hit 31 HR’s in 2012 Giants LF hit .350 in 1st half . This Crap about the Giants won because of pitching is BS, in 2010 they were among NL leaders in HR’s,and in 2012 they were among the NL leaders in AVG, EBH,and hitting with RISP,and hit alot of HR’s in post seasom.

Moooooooooose

LOL! Does he play in that group I read about in the Bee this week?

carmot

I still say there’s a very good chance we get Ichiro. I don’t want him, unless we get another piece too- we’re sure to pick up his $6.5M salary. I don’t think we should even trade Machi straight up for Ichiro.

No way we’re trading Machi or Petit for Ichiro and taking on his $6.5M salary to be our #5 outfielder. He would be starting, which is kinda worrisome. His batting peripherals have really declined. It’s kinda a coin flip whether I’d prefer him or Blanco starting. If we could add a second piece in order to also get a good prospect back in the trade, I could like it.

Michael Scott

Ichiro was a joke. Hence the winky guy.

Michael Scott

“Set” is not the same as “Good”. And 2014 is on the #1 hitter, and the 3-4-5-6. Peter- good morning.

Michael Scott

Pav’s post: Kuiper to Bochy on Pablo- Duane’s new name- Snark Kuiper
Sabean on Gaudin- Yet another way to say “goodbye”
Petit- giving the job to Vogelsong was a bad idea
Perez- obviously he got hot. He had been hitting .225 three minutes ago
Crick as closer- many thoight the same thing when Timmy was signed- “many” were wrongo then and are wrongo now
On the Tims- Cano for 25 per,10 years. Or Timmy and Timmy for 35 per, 2 years? Leave the Tims,take the Cano.
On the minor league pitchers- correct.
Law and Mac- when they get here, they’ll be here awhile.
On Left field- see above
“In time we’ll figure it out.” Time’s up.

carmot

Throughout this season I’ve forewarned that free agency will only get even crazier in the future. We’ve seen the start of this. It’s all these factors combining into a perfect storm. Two Wild Cards, draft pool money included in forfeiture for QO’ed free agent, national/regional tv money, more revenue sharing dollars, and scarcity of free agents due to them being extended much earlier.

I say just wait. By 2016, free agents’ average age won’t be around 30.6 or whatever it is right now. It will be over 32. This will be the MLB ownership/teams response to players now getting an extra YEAR(s) instead of just more AAV. Better to risk an extension through age 31 or 32 than signing any 32+ year old free agent to an extra year just to get him- or have to extend a contract past age 38. Vargas/Peralta got 4 yrs, Hughes/Feldman 3, Lincecum/Hudson/Kazmir got 2 each.

Free agency will soon become much, MUCH worse. Once the FA market has an even more drastic decline, trade costs will be even worse too. Better to find that young LF talent now.

Michael Scott

Actually, they were among the leaders in hitting w/RISP last year too. Even in RBIs with RISP. 5th in NL in both. The problem was getting on in the first place.

Michael Scott

There’s not a darn thing wrong with free agency. It saved baseball . And as long the owners are rolling in bucks, the players will be as well. Just as it should be.

Well there is that. Be careful when you quote those sort of numbers, all we have to cling to with Crawford is his upside.

Foothills Ryan

You have the cutest avatar pictures by far. Not sure what you’re doing there, but it’s kind of artsy and nostalgic.

Keep’n It Real

Wendy Thurm @ Hangingsliders tweeted that MLB told the Federal Court last night that they rejected the A’s move to San Jose last June and classified their decision as “final”.

Interesting how this is just coming out now and she thought perhaps it night have had something to do with negotiations with Coliseum. At any rate, there’s that vote that many A’s fans wanted.

Keep’n It Real

I’m sure spin-control story by Mark Purdy is being typed right at this moment.

The Oracle

Because the bench is so thin, they need everyone to be healthy. Iguodola makes a huge difference and he’s missing. When everyone’s healthy, they are a much better team. Unfortunately, injuries are a part of the game. They absolutely need more depth.

carmot

Okay, sure. Is HOU “handling it right”? Three #1 overall draft picks in a row. Look at teams like MIN and CHC trying to race to the worse record in 2013.

This stuff won’t just affect the integrity of the draft. Playoff standings could be determined simply by which contending teams play the worst teams more often in the last 5 weeks of the season.

Anyways, the cost- in every way imaginable- will go up tremendously. And soon. I just don’t like the idea of continually seeking a one-year stopgap solution in LF. If we’re trading away some of our young & talented arms, we should be seeking at least a 3-year solution IMO.

channelclemente

Beltran to NYY for 3/$45 is hear, I suspect, I just haven’t had time to find it.

Keep’n It Real

I think we need to remember that MLB TEams were just given extra money from their new MBL-related TV Contract. New/extra money like this won’t be coming out of the blue every off-season, so perhaps that should be factored in any future review of FA.

carmot

Jon Heyman
‏@JonHeymanCBS

beltran agent told nyy he had 2 $48M/3 bids. cashman went from 2 yrs to $45M/3, said answer quick or we go elsewhere (choo)

Shankbone

Back when he was with the Nats Willingham was a Sabean Trade Target TM.

I’d look at Trevor Plouffe as a possible buy-low sleeper who can play 3B/LF, provide some coverage. Has good splits versus lefties and a RH pull power profile. Might still get it as far as hitting.

Peter Johnson

I think they allready have him , Williamson he will be at AT&T by 2015 if not earlier, Wilingham will be a great stop gap until he is ready. Iam more worried about Possey ,who used to have alot of power to RF and CF,but in 2013 he hit alot of lazy fly balls to RF,and alot of warning track fly balls to LCF and CF . The Giant announcers were saying he was getting AT&Td,but most MLB parks are at least 400ft to CF,he then tried to pull more ,but just grounded out to 3rd way to much . I hope he builds up his stregth in off season are that 167 mill contract might be a killer.

carmot

Sure. Some teams like PHI, SEA, CHC, and ARI are getting new regional tv deals soon too. The fact is it doesn’t come every off-season. But if a few teams suddenly spend more, it affects ALL the other teams and the overall market.

I’m really digging “the new superteam model” that I think Epstein is going for. Unlike TOR, MIA, LAD, LAA, WAS, DET, etc… He’s not buying on the market. He absolutely tooled the IFA system’s loophole, also gotten top draft picks, and is building for a superteam in 3-4 years time. All from within. At a fraction of the cost. And 6-7 years of team cost-control added in. It’s brilliant!

DrLefty

I’m with Wendy. Ichiro would be a downgrade from Blanco at this point both offensively and especially defensively. Ichiro would cost $6.5 mil., plus whatever we traded for him. Way more than just keeping Blanco.

I’d send Surkamp and either Perez or Blanco for Gardner. Gardner would be a nice upgrade to Blanco, but he’s only got one year until free agency. The Yanks can’t ask for the sun, moon, and stars for him. Surkamp is a major-league ready pitcher and cheap. That would be a good add for the Yankees.

Why Perez or Blanco? Gardner’s the only one of all those Yankee OFs who can play CF. They need a CF to back up the oft-injured Ellsbury. But they can have a utility IF if they want one, too–Arias or Abreu or even Adrianza. (Adrianza hit a homer in Yankee Stadium!) The Yanks suddenly find themselves a little light in the infield.

carmot

I sure hope Mac is the solution, that would be awesome. I hold a bit of skepticism (forgive me), we’ve had others. Thomas Neal had better stats in SJ than Mac. Bowker was close. Pill has put up fantastic MiLB stats. Kieschnick’s moderate power hasn’t been seen at the MLB level.

I’ll hope for Mac. But even still, that’s 2015 at the earliest. If we had an extra outfielder that was starter material, I wouldn’t ever see that as a bad thing. We’d have “good” choices to make.

Michael Scott

OK, I sort of lied. I went outside to watch *women* jog.

carmot

Haven’t you been advocating for Plouffe for a couple years? Maybe it was somebody else, if so I apologize.

Foothills Ryan

Aren’t they jogging with too many layers for effective voyeurism?

carmot

They have Slade Heathcott and Mason Wiliams who are both CF’s. Not sure how much they’d want Surkamp. Sure, a groundball pitcher is good. But two of their better starter prospects (Nuno and turley) are lefties. Along w/ Sabathia? Heck, I’d ship ’em two of: Petit, Heston & Fitzgerald. Maybe they can get one to stick in their rotation. Otherwise, their bullpen is still suspect, and I’m sure they’d like Machi and his GB% & ERA.

Because Gardner is so good defensively, I think they keep him to be the cornerstone of their outfield. Those others like Beltran, Wells, and Soriano need some extra help when they’re out there.

Peter Johnson

Why not he has power, you seem to be a fan of punch and judy hitters, you must be a Marty Lurie fan . Power is rare in post juice MLB era,and if you have it is a good thing, hard to get 3 hits an inning to score against good pitching.

dgg

Snow on the ground here too. Snow’s been on the ground. Temp: -15 degrees F. High expected today: -5. At least it’s sunny.

Foothills Ryan

Idaho?

channelclemente

Ice Divas on parade, huh.

carmot

Khris Davis is a power hitter with a high OBP and very balanced batting splits. And comes with 6 years of cost-control. And a team we could match up with for a trade. I am not a Lurie fan. Any other assumptions I can dispel?

dgg

Montana. Beautiful, stunning Montana.

channelclemente

Carmot, sooner or later, you have to look beyond just the stats, and at the player and the base parameters upon which he can build. Those are almost never in stats in MiLB players given the stats are an average over a time scale that is just too long to be useful or are too few to have sufficient sample size, especially in a developing ballplayer.

channelclemente

You, need a 5 iron and an orange ball.

DrLefty

They might want Petit. He had a pretty darn good audition in September. Heston and Fitzgerald are useless as trade pieces, IMO. Heston couldn’t even stay on our 40-man roster, and Fitzgerald’s never cracked it. (He also got absolutely pounded in VZ yesterday.) I thought of Surkamp in particular because he’s cheap, and Petit is already into his arb years.

Ugh, I’m just going to be HORRIFIED if they trade Scutaro for Ichiro. PLEASE don’t do it, Sabes!

carmot

I have. I do. He improved his routes this season in the outfield. His swing might be a question mark to my eyes. His eye at the plate still needs to improve in order to match up to his potential.

Like I’ve said, I hope Mac is the solution. But it wouldn’t be bad to have a 2014 solution that could also be here more than 2 years. YMMV.

One thing that I find useful is what I call an innings count. What are the high side, low side estimates on what a pitccher can deliver now, not in the past. Even with 5 starters the Giants, IMO, are shy the 1000 innings minimum 5 starters ought to deliver.

channelclemente

So you get my point?

carmot

Maybe Petit, didn’t he pitch there in Sept? No way on Scoots. “He’s one of our guys” and Sabochy don’t do that. *IF* they do, it would only be for somebody like Jose Bautista IMO.

channelclemente

The Yankees and Mets win. This was never really about the A’s.

dgg

cc, you made me laugh out loud. But I would accidentally hit the people already out cross-country skiing on the city golf course.

Foothills Ryan

Interesting angle. The world kind of works like that.

carmot

Yeah, that’s a good notion. I actually think of this often when considering bullpens. We ask about 500 innings from our bullpen. Where do we get them from after the 220-ish from Affeldt, Lopez, Casilla, and Romo?

Foothills Ryan

Is the sky actually bigger there?

carmot

I just read an article about how The Tribe might look to move once their lease agreement at Progressive Field is up in 2032. Earlier if they can get out from under. I think they didn’t like the 9,700 attendance figure for their play-in game. lol.

Cities being suggested include Boise? Wha? LOL. It seems like Portland, Charlotte, Louisville or New Orleans. Maybe Las Vegas.

DrLefty

Totally agree. That’s why an innings eater like Petit (or even Vogelsong) would be great in the bullpen.

Keep’n It Real

Interestingly enough…I have (for months) said that this would never fly, because the 2 teams you mentioned wouldn’t want a team like the Rays moving into Brooklyn.

DrLefty

He did. He pitched that Sunday game against Andy Pettitte (goodbye to Mariano day) that the Giants won. I remember because it was Petit vs. Pettitte!

channelclemente

Tampa Bay wants out, into NY too.

channelclemente

Exactly. The Rays have been looking for an out from Tampa for some time into the NY media market.

Foothills Ryan

Sorry no Rosterbation today. What’s the point, right?

The thing that is somewhat reassuring is that the Dodgers aren’t going Yankee crazy (yet). They have talent, but not the insurmountable kind. The Diamondbacks are also quiet. The Giants still have a chance. Especially if the Dodgers are almost done and maybe the injury bug visits their clubhouse and infects a few unsuspecting individuals. Like last year, only they don’t win 45/50 games in the middle of the summer.

Michael Scott

Well, I sort of lied again- I went outside to imagine women jogging.

channelclemente

MLB ownership is all about coalitions and quid pro quo deals. I wonder what Selig is going to do with his free time next year, back into Brewerland maybe?

dgg

Have you ever been to Boise?

Foothills Ryan

Why I advocated for a real innings eater, like Ubaldo Jimenez has the potential to be. They need starters to eat up those frames or the bullpen will get chewed on.

carmot

Dodger questions remaining. Do they make a trade like Kemp for Taijuan Walker and Nick Franklin? Does that free them up to trade Fife and/or Lee? Does Guerrero hit well? They also haven’t re-signed JP Howell. And don’t have a third baseman.

carmot

No. But it’s a pretty small market to move to. It could be great. Or it could be another TB.

TB really deserves a better market/fan base. But their park lease goes on like forever. IIRC, they just signed it recently.

Peter Johnson

The Dodgers had way more injuries then the Giants in 2013,Kemp,Ramirez,Either,Beckett,Billingsly,Crawford,thats

channelclemente

Never stopped my friends I worked with in Chicago. They’d carry a club handle around work and meet for lunch 2-3 times a week to plan their snow golf tournaments starting in late December. Apparently learning to swing a club in a parka with gloves on isn’t easy.

channelclemente

What was ever the point, but I digress.

channelclemente

Well there you go, a trend.

carmot

No, it’s not. And a snow golf tip: can’t hit in the snow like it’s a sand shot. It just removes snow from under the ball- making it fall about one inch lower. And makes the golfer look really stoopid.

dgg

Vegas, I wasn’t objecting to what you said. I’m sorry if that’s how it came across. I really don’t want the Giants to trade Scutaro, that’s all.

channelclemente

Car, IMO, the only thing goofier than the players, is the spectators. I drove by a course in Burlingam and the nutcases were playing in an ice storm…right before a blizzard.

Peter Johnson

I like Davis too,amd that’s why Brewers were never going to trade him. You think all prospects are going to make it ,besides Mac, but the reason Beltran got paid, he is proven power is rare in game, prospects are not proven.

Oh, and PHI Phans are a very unhappy bunch. They seem to use a lot of unclean language regarding Ryan Howard and Papelbon. But mostly directed at Ruin Tomorrow. Mostly.

ClutchUp

Fungo golf is the BEST :>)

carmot

I can’t ever claim sanity after I’ve played golf in February in New York, with my full golf bag being blown over- being spun and turned over four revolutions by 25+ mph winds in 20 degree weather. Oh, good times. And playing white golf balls in snow is REALLY difficult. Yup, I lurned that.

ClutchUp

Poor Purdy, that story has become his entire life now.

channelclemente

I’ll take your word for it. I quit when I was 20 years old. Couldn’t afford all those clubs I broke and threw into the water.

ClutchUp

My uncle was institutionalized for similar reasons.

channelclemente

Talk about irony, no one reads his stuff. Paywall, although, I’m no longer sure even who he writes for.

channelclemente

Is he out, does he like baseball. Uncle, my eye.

ClutchUp

@Carmot (Throughout this season I’ve forewarned that free agency will only get even crazier in the future)

But the point was to demonstrate ‘payroll’ flexibility. Given a set of 25 players and the $ committed, one can see how Sabean’s hands would be tied. Right now, it’s abundantly clear that his hands are pretty tied up.

channelclemente

My point exactly, mental-master-ba-tion.

ClutchUp

PJ: We’ll never know but I think the Posey 2013 poor stats was the totality of the 2011 rehab into his marvelous 2012 and the 2013 we all witnessed was somehow tied together cumulatively.

It will take 2-4 years for Mac to again learn how to be successful versus ML type pitching. 1-5 with 4 K’s and a big HR is the type of beginning he’ll have. Success + lots of failure. Maybe he’ll hit .220-.240 but provide thump? Some ML pitchers will just toy with him, just like almost every other young hitter throughout baseball.

carmot

What’s with all this? The personal rancor reflected in that remark, I don’t intend to dignify with comment. But I would like to address your general attitude of hopeless negativism.

I don’t have it in for Mac. I don’t think all prospects (except him) are going to make it. I think Davis is obtainable if we offer Sandoval + arms + take Ramirez’s contract. Chances got A LOT slimmer of this happening once they traded Aoki.

But I still think we can present an overwhelming offer like no other team- we got a cheap, switch-hitting Sandoval to replace Ramirez for them. And we got young arms. The $12M taken off book plus more savings in young arms could help them in many ways.

As I’ve said, if/when Mac makes it up… That would be a great problem to have. YMMV.

ClutchUp

Was he the answer (punch-line) to a joke?

ClutchUp

Disagree. Ishiro has seen every kind of pitch in every kind of situation from every pitcher on all clubs – and can afford to take a 3-2 pitch on the black for ball four due to his pedigree. Way Way better player than Blanco.

ClutchUp

I agree with NOT trading Scoots for Ishi. Scoots 2013 was similar to Posey’s 2013. There are fixable reasons why they both struggled.

ClutchUp

All we needed was for it to be Le Boulanger day at the yard

Foothills Ryan

When was the last time it was possible to say the Giants have a better farm system than the Braves? Maybe now is the time:

It’s a small market if you only consider the metropolitan area of Boise. I’m not sure people understand that up here in the Pacific and Rocky Mountain Northwest, we get in our vehicles and travel far to support our teams. And we travel fast in the vast, open distances between towns and across state lines. Just take the Seattle Seahawks for example. The 12th man comes from everywhere up here:

“The Seattle Seahawks are considered to be the home team by fans from Alaska down through Oregon and inland to Montana.”

Foothills Ryan

Eggs-actly. Situations, situations, situations. Knows how to handle the bat at any age. Stats don’t always tell the whole story.

ClutchUp

My hero!

DrLefty

I read the M’s might trade Franklin and Walker for Price. And they may try to buy Nelson Cruz or Choo. They don’t have to ship two blue-chip young players so they can pay mega-bucks for a possibly broken Kemp.

ClutchUp

8 hours sleep?

ClutchUp

You are such a god-awful fan of every sport. Have you busted out of puberty yet?

ClutchUp

…miserable…god awful….you’ll feel better when you turn 12 yrs old

carmot

8 home NFL games doesn’t translate to 81 home MLB games. M’s are having a very rough go of attendance. I know, this is a tired discussion. It’s not just attendance, it’s the number of eyeballs in the regional tv market. Average per household income. And other factors like these.

ClutchUp

Ronald Reagan was President when LAD’s won a WS…

ClutchUp

Tough thinking about any flaws he had after being on Robben Island for 19 years.

ClutchUp

I didn’t think you could puke up one of your ‘takes’ any worse than your takes on the Giants but you did vs. Ali. He stood up for his beliefs. You should be so lucky.

ClutchUp

Boys run in the gene pool unless you’ve created a way to guarantee gender…ahead of time.

ClutchUp

They can be fairly rare…

carmot

Yeah, they have options. I’d think they wouldn’t want to trade some of their young talent that could be part of their new core. Especially offense. I’ve seen both: Kemp or Price.

Heyman tweeted that Cano is close friends with Cruz, and may be able to help recruit him. You probably saw that already. They have a bunch of .230 avg hitters- no idea who they intend to be their leadoff. Maybe Choo makes more sense? Or trading for a guy like Gardner? Dunno.

Reminds me of Glanvilles NFL Not For Long. The Braves will fix their end of the issue.

NoShame09

If that’s a true story, it’s pretty GD awesome. Please tell me he hits the strip clubs after banging out the back 9.

ClutchUp

Finesse + Velo + Control + Command. That would be a really nice package.

ClutchUp

rough phraseology

Michael Scott

He was out of shape last year. He’s “sort of” acknowledged that.

dgg

The problem with attendance at Mariners ball games might have something to do with the current quality of baseball being played. In 2001, when the Mariners won 116 games, the average attendance was 43,300 a game. In 2001 and 2002, the Mariners had the highest attendance in the American League.

We only have advanced Rookie baseball where I live, but the Pioneer League is very popular in Montana, Idaho, Utah, and Canada. Baseball here has been around since the 1800s.

channelclemente

What happened that prevented the Mariners from sustaining that momentum? Besides losing baseball, I mean.

Michael Scott

He’ll be a rookie of the year candidate.

dgg

Alex addressed this in a blog in late September. Posey talked about how he needs to do “strength training” in the offseason.

“Posey played a full season in 2010 as a rookie catcher on a championship team, and he carried a heavy load last year as the MVP catcher on a championship team. In between, months and months of grueling rehab after he was blown up at home plate. Maybe, he has finally worn down. Posey and Bochy won’t admit it, but the catcher came close on Saturday. Asked how he planned to spend his offseason, Posey said he needed to do “strength training to where I feel good all year.””

I agree but it was work-out-out of shape based on stamina needed for an entire season…not like the type attributed to a Huff or a Sandoval. Posey admitted to needing a different type of program for HIMself I believe.

Sandoval
Crick
Flores or Marte or Agosta or Blackburn
Hembree or Hall or Law

I’m a big fan of Sale, so it would be an interesting dilemma for me. His team-friendly contract is only rivaled by Bumgarner’s IMO. Maybe some still worry about his durability? Could we “afford” something like this? Would you want this?

The best explanation I’ve ever read was in an article by John McGrath this past June. There’s an interesting analysis about the difference between the Mariners and the A’s response to the trade deadline in 2003. The Mariners ignored the deadline. The A’s didn’t.

“Ten years ago Monday, the Mariners had all the pieces in place to win the division, the league championship and the World Series. But the push fell short — they finished 93-69, three games behind the A’s — and the vibe about the team never has been the same. What went wrong?”

Typical post by you…you don’t refute on the merit of what I said. Ali had some terrible faults. I listed out the worst of many he had. So what he was a great boxer. As a human being, he was a draft dodger, tax evader, womanizer, 4 times married, multiple illegitimate children. He’s got all the boxes checked under scumbag categories.
I stand up for my beliefs every day in socialist CA by voting and supporting candidates that espouse personal liberty and capitalism. Ali/Obama and likely you do the opposite.

Guido…Uncle…is now living in a home. When he was younger he’d watch imaginary females jogging…and built up a bad rep.

channelclemente

For the want of a horseshoe nail.

channelclemente

LOL.

ClutchUp

Giants will add a LF
A bullpen arm
Done

Michael Scott

I suspect it wasn’t the imagining.

carmot

Okay, so you say.

Then, the one very realistic option I’d like is Yoon Suk-Min. More flexibility and upside combined with cost-control than any other option IMO. Sounds like we’re gonna have to bid against the Cubs for him. Bench depth will continue to be an issue. LF probably Morse or Ichiro, maybe Stubbs.

dgg

Wow. I had to look up the meaning and I’m impressed. The proverb that shows small actions (or in the case of the Mariners, non-actions) can result in big consequences:

“For want of a nail the shoe was lost.
For want of a shoe the horse was lost.
For want of a horse the rider was lost.
For want of a rider the message was lost.
For want of a message the battle was lost.
For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.
And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.”

Nate’sFanMom

I don’t foresee the Giants tradingfor a LFer (hope I’m wrong). They could be holding out to see how Mac Williamson develops or hoping that Juan Perez can hit consistently.

Not necessarily a bad strategy, but they should be honest and say so. We’re their customers, after all.

channelclemente

King John’s big problem. “Can no man lend me a mount.” He had bad credit every where after drowning his two nephews.

dgg, I’m sorry. It was late and I was having a hard time expressing myself. I don’t want the Giants to trade Scutaro either. You didn’t say anything wrong. It’s all my fault for the misunderstanding. Thanks.

ClutchUp

Sports Columnist at San Jose Mercury News Past Sports Columnist/Sports Editor/Metro Columnist at Cincinnati Enquirer
Education Northwestern U.
Covered 11 Olympic Games and 25 Super Bowls. Originated the idea of honoring former Giant player Willie McCovey by putting his name on the body of water outside AT&T – now known as McCovey Cove.

DrLefty

The argument is that, having bought ten years (!!) of Cano, Seattle should be in a “win now” (or soon) mode–Cano’s value will be in the first few years of his deal. Same if they sign Cruz or Choo. Thus–Price becomes more valuable to them than Taijuan Walker. He’s an ace now. What a rotation that would be, huh?

Vegas Giants Fan

I’ll try to explain what point I was trying to make at another time when I’m not so tired. It’ll make more sense then. Thanks.

DrLefty

He WAS a better player than Blanco. Now he’s 40. C’mon, seriously?

Peter Johnson

Ichiro to old,and does not walk enough and has little power,and is lefthanded hitter.Stubbs is freeswinger,who also does not walk enough,low OBP only hit HR’s at The Great Small Park, Morse is injury prone to Muscle bound ,has had only 1 full season with good #’s, Willingham is a proven power hitter in MLB,many good seasons, hit 35 HR’s and well over 100 RBI’s with Twins in 2012 ,a very large Home Ballpark,and he also walks alot, high OBP.

Vegas Giants Fan

The IFB was just one one the many stats I found on Stubbs. I just thought it would mean something to someone out there. If I were to make a guess I think it would take someone like Blach and Adrianza plus one of our minor league relievers to get Stubbs. (not Law though. He’s a non starter in a trade just like Crick. IMO)

Lincecum, Cain, and Bum are all 200-inning guys. (Lincecum was over 197 in 2013; even in his worst season, he pitched 186.) Hudson’s 2013 was shortened by the ankle injury, but he’s quite capable of being 180+ and has hit 200+ many times (most recently 2011). Vogelsong had almost 190 in 2012. That’s a pretty good collection of innings-eaters, isn’t it?

BALDHEADSLIK1

No only 5 hrs of sleep like I ed so tired.
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Telling the fans what they plan on doing is not a responsiblity of the team. Actually it’s a terrible idea.

Vegas Giants Fan

Shankbone. I but Stubbs stats out there to start a discussion, that’s all. when I put them out there a few weeks ago people were surprised by them. the Winter Meetings are coming up soon and I thought I’d throw the numbers out there and see if anything would stick. (so to speak). Thanks for your response to my post. I always appreciate when people take the time to answer my posts. Even if we don’t agree. That’s what makes this blog so fun for me. Have a great day. I’m off to work now.

Go Giants.

Peter Johnson

Young pitching, maybe catcher since Mauer is now 1B ,could Kickham,or Surkamp,are younger Pitcher not the top prospects, maybe Pill since the Giants will never give him a chance.

Michael Scott

35 years old in February, coming off a terrible year: not a great gamble. The slg. percentage is huge red flag. Your right about Suzuki and Stubbs, though.
IMO

The Oracle

It’ll be interesting to see what Williamson can do in Richmond, where bats go to die. As we all know, only one Giants prospect has torn it up there in recent years….a kid named Brandon Belt (.337/.413/.623/1.036).

The Oracle

Isn’t that what Sabean did?

ClutchUp

I do like his HR totals prior to his 14 last yr … 35/110 and 29/98. The ball was electric off his bat during the one A’s year. His HR’s were gone the moment after he finished his swing. (similar to the way Uggla use to swing at ATT)

Michael Scott

Pill might be OK in a bandbox if he can figure out pinch hitting.

DrLefty

There was a young man named Pablo Sandoval who also ripped up the Eastern League (for Connecticut, not Richmond).

Michael Scott

I like his HR totals prior to last year, too. That doesn’t make him a good bet for 2014.
We’d be way too late on this guy, he’s been available off and on for years.

channelclemente

I can’t believe there is only 10 seconds of this young fellow with a bat in his hand.

DrLefty

I like Stubbs because his splits against lefties are good (OPS nearly .800 for his career). Good (enough) defensively–much better in CF than in a corner. Good speed. If a platoon is what they’re going for, he could work. But he should be a strict platoon guy; he’s awful against righties.

Still young, not expensive, under team control for two years.

DrLefty

Two tweets from Schulman:

Free-agent OF Michael Morse is on the #sfgiants radar, but the club still feels its best route to a LF is a trade. Also…..

…Even as Sabean was dousing expectations, I understand he’s very actively talking with other GMs. Which outfielders? I don’t know.

ClutchUp

Whoever the bridge is, looks like it will be a short one until Mac-Wills arrives…

ClutchUp

Long ago I though BP6 would end up with the Astros…

DrLefty

Buster never played in AA–they skipped him right to AAA from San Jose. I always wondered if they were stage-managing his progress. It might have been demoralizing to everyone if he’d struggled in AA.

ClutchUp

Joe Panik won’t be a HR hitter in the Show but his swing stays in the hitting zone long enough to extend at bats and if/when pitchers make mistakes he can drive the ball.

Gracias C/U – didn’t realize that Chris Dominguez had such a good year – NOR that he is a good 3B:

“Dominguez batted a career-high .294 with 15 homers, the latter of which ranked second among third basemen. His 44 extra-base hits also ranked second among Giants at the hot corner and his 65 RBIs were enough to finish third. Boosted by the inflated average, his .334 on-base percentage, .464 slugging percentage and .798 OPS percentage were all personal bests.

“He was a guy that was a high-strikeout guy when I was a roving instructor, but he has high power upside — light-tower power, he’s so strong,” Mariano said. “If he eventually figures it all and cuts down on those strikeouts, he’ll have big-time power to all fields.

“He’s outstanding defensively and he has a Howitzer for an arm. I saw him make plays that I’ve not seen third basemen in the big leagues make.

Panda trade-bait?

Peter Johnson

Had a knee injury in 2013, was on DL for quite a while,so if he checks out healthy,Giants might get him cheap,because carrer low stats in 2013.

DrLefty

I just looked at some photos of Morse. Hubba hubba. Go get ‘im, Sabes. We need a looker to replace Zito.

I’m still among those who think he’s a AAAA hitter but it’s well past time that the Giants let him go. Just DFA the poor guy, they might get something for him but if not, no biggie.He’ll land somewhere and in the right ballpark he could be OK. And there’s always Japan.

channelclemente

Does anyone honestly think, in that park, Cano will be a superstar.

Hopper15

We may lose Chris Dominguez to the Rule 5 draft. The giants seem to be higher on Adam Duvall who they put on the 40 man roster over Dominguez.

ClutchUp

His Bride up-holds the Giants’ wives tradition also :>)

Peter Johnson

Seatle 2nd in MLB in HR’s last year,they moved the fences in last year, the problem is all the power is from lefthanded hitters . Morse was the only righthanded power and he hurt his wrist,and after fast start was a bust,but Giants fans want him, he has only played over 103 games once in his carrer .

ClutchUp

It wasn’t I who was UP on Dominguez?
I hope Snorks is nice and warm there?

channelclemente

Well, they gave up and created a West Coast bandbox. Oh well, there is no explaining taste.

Shankbone

Nah, not me advocating Plouffe for a couple of years. A couple of months though. Hard to find hitters on the market. Khris Davis will not be traded by the Brewers, that’s a total pipe dream. There has to be some warts for a player to get traded these days, for Plouffe its hitting versus righties, his defensive profile and starting to cost a little money, PLUS the twins have a stud 3B coming.

Reading Clutch’s report would leave one to believe we’re stacked with MiLB talent – sure hope some of these nuggets pan out. gilligan

ClutchUp

Historically past and present Giant regimes were not shy in picking up future Hall of Famers past their prime when they came to SF. Spahn, Carlton, Duke Snider, Gary Carter, Goose Gossage, Randy Johnson (TBA) and so I think that Ishiro and wife + dog can call SF their in season home vs. Issaquah/Medina, WA. Maybe Timmy can put in a good word since he’s considered a neighbor.

DrLefty

And did any of those actually work out well for the Giants? I mean, I like my Randy Johnson 300-win bobblehead just fine, but he got 292 of those somewhere else. No disrespect to those Hall of Famers, just sayin’.

DrLefty

I wish I was there. Brrrrrrrrr.

ClutchUp

Can we book a flight…Mr. L, Winnie and us?

ClutchUp

Spahn, Snider, Carlton and Carter may have been Stoneham-Feeney-Lurie publicity stunts although I think the rest of the team were awestruck. Goose was still trying to be Goose on Humm Baby’s 89 team before he went back to NYY’s. The Big Unit apparently shared much knowledge to Cain and Tim. I just think Sabes would be intrigued for this season (only). I prefer the good looking Michael J. Morse. (He and Javy can double as Secret Service.) If Sabes hurries they can get the Mrs. Morse in the 2014 Team Wives Calendar

Not quite a Hall of Famer,but Joe Carter played his last 41 MLB games with the Giants in 1998. Hit his last 7 of 396 HR’s and had 29 RBI to help the Giants make miracle come back and tie Cubs for Wildcard, but Giants lost that Game with the Late Rod Beck getting the save.

ClutchUp

Remember two players SF picked up but (1) Dave Hendu Henderson was too late in the season and (2) SF did not put Eric Young Sr. on their post season roster vs. the Fish – otherwise he scores vs. JT getting hosed at the dish

Michael Scott

Randy was sort of a mentor to Dirrrrty, wasn’t he? And therefore a major party to one the great nights in SF Giants history.I think Jonathan’s no-hitter is the most dramatic and emotional games I’ve seen- that his Dad flew up in what was a crossroads in Dirrty’s career made it all the more poignant. Their hug made me cry. It’s a long shot but I’d love for him to make it back.

CC: A hint on my blog for your pan fried chicken dinner this weekend. I’m mulling over my next post. I think it will be food again. My Mom made some of the best BBQ- she made the ribs just like the great Pit Masters- a spicy rub, mop sauce, long slow smoking. “Real” ribs- not the baby backs. St. Louis cut. When my brothers and I were home, she made 2 sides for each of us. And we finished them in one sitting.No side dishes, maybe pie later. Years later she came out when I was opening a restaurant in Petaluma. I had a mesquite griil and a pit oven. Night before the opening, she sat in the kitchen as the ribs were smoking. We drank beer, played Patsy Cline on the jukebox, ate the ribs standing up, then danced. It was the best time I ever had with my Mom.

Michael Scott

Panda?

ClutchUp

I do remember the game but my only guesses would be Whitey behind the dish and maybe a Randy Winn in the OF and of course Jazz Hands made an error somewhere in the IF but I don’t remember where he played. My biggest memory is Whitey!

ClutchUp

Moms are special people!

DrLefty

Yep. Hit a 3-run HR in the fourth.

DrLefty

Uribe started the game at 2B but, ironically, moved to 3B for defense (replacing Sandoval, who started there)–where he made the error.

Yes, Whiteside was the catcher (Mrs. Bengie was having a baby). Rowand in CF–he made a great catch in the ninth to preserve the no-no. Renteria at SS, Ishikawa at 1B, Bowker (replaced for defense by Torres later), and Winn.

channelclemente

He still has the stuff, he just can’t find the strike zone or control his emotions.

Will do. The blog is bookmarked! I’m no chef, but I do love to cook when I get the time.

Mr. L got turkey chili in the slow cooker tonight. I found and doctored the recipe a few weeks ago and liked it so much I re-created it. We’ll eat it all week. Finals week, busy, busy. Have to cook smart.

Walter Guest

This from MLB Rumors, “…some officials tell Rosenthal that the Giants and Astros could also get involved…” on the Choo Train.

I don’t believe it because of the money involved, but wouldn’t that be a great fit? It would make the Giants near favorites to win the division. If Pablo came back in shape, they would be overwhelming favorites.

From what I understand, Pagan has pieces missing from a leg. The Giants will probably get 100 games from him. Having Blanco as a backup will be big since they are about equal overall.

That’s my opinion, for what it’s worth.

Walter Guest

It seems to me that Jackie Robinson got traded to the Giants but retired rather than reporting.

DrLefty

We visited the Hall of Fame in September. They have Jackie Robinson’s letter where he explains that he’s decided to retire. He carefully says he has no disrespect for the Giants’ organization but just felt that it was time.

Michael Scott

Good post, Walter.

Michael Scott

Real big games tomorrow for the Niners and Alex’s guys.

19-17 Niners

24-13 Chiefs

Night all. Have some ribs tomorrow. Good recipe for Oven baked ones- never as good as the long, slow smoked ones- but baby,it cold outside…

I was on my way to Winco when I turned on the radio in the ninth inning, and listened to the end in the parking lot before I went inside. I bought bananas, ice cream, milk, eggs, and bread.

Vegas Giants Fan

I watched every pitch of that game. It was a great moment in what turned out to be an unexpectedly exciting season.

Vegas Giants Fan

DrLefty. You may remember the first time I posted Stubbs splits I mentioned he was rated the 5th best base runner in all of baseball for the last 4 years. He stole 16 bases in 18 attempts last season. He would be valuable as a pinch hitter against LHP. He would be great as a pinch runner. He would add depth to the bench. I agree with everything you said.

Vegas Giants Fan

Williamson acquitted himself well in his first full season in the minors at San Jose. Richmond (AA) will provide a strong challenge of his abilities next season. (Richmond’s ballpark is rated the 8th most pitcher friendly park in the minor leagues according to Baseball America) Hopefully he can continue to play well next season. We Giants fans could certainly use some good news coming out of our minor league system.

Go Giants.

Vegas Giants Fan

I’m going to be taking a break from the blog for awhile, until my father starts feeling better. I hope you all have a great holiday season and I’ll see you all in Spring Training. VGF

Go Giants.

DrLefty

I was actually in Washington D.C., giving a weekend workshop at American University. Listened to the game on my phone MLB app and of course couldn’t go to sleep with what was going on. It was after 1 a.m. there and I had eight hours of teaching/speaking the next day, but…

In the top of the ninth, it occurred to me to turn on the hotel TV and see if ESPN had cut in and started showing the game. They were, so I got to see the end, and I watched the replay of the whole thing when I got home.

dgg

We will miss you, VGF. Best wishes for your father’s recovery. Happy Holidays to you and your family.

Slide Dog

Walter, granted there are similarities but the wins-and-losses speak for themselves. With Pagan on the field the Giants were a playoff team, with Blanco … well you saw it. Not sure how big you are on intangibles but Pagan’s got a lot of those.

DrLefty

Thanks for all your great info and replies. Best wishes to your dad and family. Take care!

DrLefty

Here is a piece on my favorite GM, Ruin Tomorrow Jr. For entertainment value, read the comments from all the happy Phillies fans.

Agreed. The stats don’t show it as much, but Pagan brings a fire and intensity that seems to spark the team. We saw it in 2012, and we saw it in September when he came back from his injury.

Without Angel, you have a bunch of chill/quiet personalities (the Crawfords and Poseys and Cains of the world). Pence obviously can be a motivator, but he seems more like a lover than a fighter (bring the enthusiasm, not so much the red-a**). There was Vogelsong’s “chain-saw angry” thing (but he was injured and ineffective last year). That left only Bumgarner, who’s feisty and competitive, but he’s also very young. Also hard for a starter to be the real leader.

In short: They missed Angel.

channelclemente

We’ll miss you. Hurry back, and hug your Dad.

channelclemente

Choo might be set the record for the most expensive platoon hitter in history.

The Oracle

Has anyone heard whether Woj is going to be released from the institution in time for spring training?

channelclemente

LOL, what he said.

Foothills Ryan

I have a feeling we’ll see you when something good happens or you just need an escape. Best wishes to you and your dad. It’s a sweet thing that you’re there.

Now that the Winter Meetings are upon us, you may want to open a twitter account…just to follow all the baseball people.

Seriously…all the breaking news stuff and rumors appear on twitter before any of the websites.

All I want for Christmas is Tanaka and Choo. No…seriously…I was THAT GOOD this year 😉

Matthew

Vegas, you are a great Giants fan, and always show class here…best of luck. I believe in the power of prayer and will do so for you and your father. Hope to see you back soon with good news.

channelclemente

I’ve heard a few opinions to the contrary…from Belt as I recall.

Dodgerblue

Robert Griffin worst quarterback in the league LOL

ClutchUp

Blanco and Pagan are about equal overall?!?

ClutchUp

Alex and company did even better than your prediction :>)

ClutchUp

MState and ‘Stanfurd’ at Pasadena

ClutchUp

VGF, I got “here” late. You’re making the right decision, been there. We’re here whenever you drop by. Your father will especially get better with you taking care of him. Be well yourself too because you’ve had your own share of battles.

ClutchUp

He broke out under his birth name of Chris…with avatar standing @ LF foul pole.

ClutchUp

Twitter, Twooter, Twitzit,Twalbagger…I’ll pass. Would not want to hit submit and send out something foolish. I can do that here.

ClutchUp

WoW, the BluBoy from Dogerville just hit an all time LOW

channelclemente

He thinks he’s on the WaPo blog?

ClutchUp

Oakland Raiders LOL

ClutchUp

plus what is a quartebacks?

MLBSF

The 49ers have to be the WORSTteam in pro football on third and short .. especially in the red zone. It’s the same call every time.. a dive right up the middle and they get stopped every single time…..which is why they kick so many field goals.
COME ON ROMAN.

Defense looks awesome so far though.

ClutchUp

jacob, you’re god-awful. The OTHER team is also TRYING also ????

MLBSF

You know nothing about the NFL. Leave the convo to the big boys.
You worry about your pollyanna cheerleader/season ticket renewal marketing letters and correspondence for the Giants. smh

Not looking good. Let’s be honest. Seattle is the better team. Period.

ClutchUp

Are you on your period or comma?

MLBSF

I notice you have been posting here non-stop since before the sun came up.

I have already worked out, went to Macys, went to Barnes and Noble, went to the Apple Store, ate lunch with my friend Elias.

You’ve sat on the couch in your underpants typing on this blog. Sad really. smh

ClutchUp

I’m at Stanford Hospital receiving a chemo treatment. You really are special I’m listening on the radio

MLBSF

Takiing up a bed for someone who really needs it. Sad really. smh

MLBSF

Bout time.

carmot

Sabean: “Hey Doug [Melvin], I bet you can’t down these 10 shots and still sign your name.” Okay, granted, this tactic could work better on Monfort…

Michael Scott

Shoot me an EMail if you ever feel like talking about it. I’ve been through it all. And still standing.michael.scott2@mchsi.com

Michael Scott

Pretty good game- despite some godawful non-calls.

ClutchUp

Agreed, on the other hand “they’re letting them play” is the oppo chant…

ClutchUp

You’re pushing the envelope, but you’re not really worth it

ClutchUp

Thank you … a now four yr battle.

MLBSF

OK my bad ClutchUp

carmot

Ha ha. So, Whitner gets hit late and out of bounds right next to an official- no call. Whitner says some words in the face of Seahawk and it’s 15 yards? LOL.

Good grief. Hand out the taunting calls 3x per play at the bottom of the dogpiles then. lol.

channelclemente

Have you ever actually given serious thought to walking out into freeway traffic?

DrLefty

Up-arrow to you for supporting Clutch (i.e., not because you were sick!).

DrLefty

And up-arrow to YOU for being a tough so-and-so.

MLBSF

Stop trying to kill meeeee.

ClutchUp knows I’m just giving him a hard time and such.

carmot

Our #7 hitter position was tied for last in RBI & home
runs, 27th in slugging, 25th in total bases and 24th in OPS- all while having the 4th most at-bats in MLB. Yeah, I’d love a LF #2 hitter that could move Scutaro to #7. Especially a LHB, that allows Posey to bat #3, Belt #4, Pence #5. Scoots could have 75+ RBI’s batting 7th.

Our 7-8-9 batting positions have a lot to do with our #2 hitter ranked #25 in AB’s and 2nd worst RBI total. The lineup just doesn’t turn over. #7= 4th most AB, #8= 13th most AB, #9= 30th. This is a problem. Methinks. Remember in 2012, Pence (mostly batting #5) had more PA’s with RISP than any other player in MLB? Yeah, the problems continue.

ClutchUp

appreciate it

Shankbone

comping to all of mlb is a suckers analysis

carmot

Go ahead and use NL only then. It ain’t good.

Walter Guest

You seem to go by “What’s he done lately?” I can remember stretches when Pagan was flat and Blanco was hot. Overall, they are near equal.

carmot

5 of the top-10 #7 hitters in PA’s for all of MLB are NL teams; ARI, SF, and LAD are 3 of them. In MLB, only DET and ARI have more AB’s for their #7 position than SF (actually tied-#3 with BOS). Using just the NL, the Giants are still tied with the Marlins for the fewest RBI’s from the #7 position.

Among 2013 NL playoff teams? Among NL West teams? Among teams with $120M+ payroll? Giants are still last in RBI’s from their #7 position, and still top-3 in at-bats. Doesn’t really matter what parameters you want to use. Whatever.

The Giants are apparently still in on Michael Morse, along with Rox, Texas, and Marlins.

ClutchUp

MM and a few hand selected others can go into a photo….maybe a game named Pagan.

carmot

Rudy Gay going to the Kings? Dang, that’s a nice tandem with McLemore. Trio, if we include Demarcus [what’s his name]. Maybe TOR is trying to best the Jazz for worst? They want their Maple Jordan? lol.

ClutchUp

Some NBA fans can actually wait to start watching in the summer…. Season is way too long….

Matthew

Great TEAM win, but for those who tend to concentrate on the QB position as be all, end all – there is your signature 4th quarter comeback win for Kap….

carmot

You mean Utah and Toronto NBA fans can just tune in on June 26, 2014? Probably.

It’s a big move though. 7-player deal.

Keep’n It Real

Come on, Clutch…it was just a suggestion. As always, I will post anything interesting if/when I see it.

Tough crowd

Matthew

You forgot my Fresno state boys?

channelclemente

So you have.

Keep’n It Real

Matthew…not really.

Without that run from Gore, “No Bueno”. The QB sweep was good, but for it to be a “signature QB win”, he would have had to lead the team down field with nice passes and such and that was not the case. Radio crew on KNBR was even talking about his lack of accuracy today during that drive.

If he can play his “A” game in Seattle (assuming they get that far), then maybe people will back off…but they won’t win in Seattle with the #7 they got today.

I respect your relationship with him, but that wasn’t a comeback win for the QB…it was a team comeback.

Michael Scott

Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in remission, lung cancer, brain mets, 3 Gamma Knife “surgeries”, lobectomy, 7 cycles chemo, 2 craniotomies…not trying to play one upmanship on health issues, just giving Clutch a little support to show we can win. I’ve been tumorless for 2 years in January. Don’t know your status Clutch, but stay ornery- my primary doctor and my radiation oncololgist at UCSF have both told me that we ornery folks have the best chance.
I’ll add that being your own advocate is important if you’re well enough to do it. I have never just submitted to the first opinion. After my lung cancer spread to my brain, the radiologist at St. Helena gave me until Christmas 2010.This week I put up the lights for Christmas 2013.
I’m not out of woods- I still have seizures and right side deficits ( one of the brain mets was in the motor strip) but we’re working on that.
Anyway, I’m serious, you can Email anytime or call- I’ll give you my number if you want. I have a speech deficit but I’m understandable. And I’m on your side.

Michael Scott

Sorry, that was for Clutch, I put it in the wrong place.

channelclemente

You can’t check out, your just too damn mean. (:-)

avwh

Agreed. Kaep wasn’t that sharp. OTOH, a win is a win – and only 2 teams in 13 tries have managed that against the Seahawks.

49ers FINALLY made Seattle pay for loading the box on that Gore 50-yard run.

Matthew

You missed my point…

People ( many on here) tend to think every loss is the QB’s fault. I have seen many comments on here that Kap has never engineered a 4th quarter comeback. They spew out stats that the league keeps , which apparently every time a team takes the lead in the 4th quarter, it counts as a “comeback win”…now, the Gore run was the absolute key play of the game, but I happen to be a Kap fan, and bristle at the crap he has been taking for every problem the team has….

As I have for the Kap lovers (not you) dogging on Alex Smith. (the bristling)

Michael Scott

The trade to KC has worked out pretty well for Alex. I’m really happy for him.

Moooooooooose

19-17? You’ll never make it as a psychic, pal!

Michael Scott

Well, good night. I shouldn’t have shared my health issues. It’s uncomfortable to respond to. Keep up the fight, Clutch.

Bapah

Seattle TImes:
“The Mariners’ front office is plagued by “total dysfunction and a lack of leadership,” according to former manager Eric Wedge. Wedge and other former and current team employees describe problems at the top of the organization”
???

Bapah

I’m assuming that’s old news. Been AWOL

channelclemente

This should bolster you. Experts give Cano’s contract about a 15% likelihood of paying off, judged 10-20 historical precedents of players of similar value and age. Fascinating analysis.

30 WAR? That seems favorable if one is trying to justify his value. I wrote the idea of Cano needing to reach 35.2 WAR on this thread. It is kinda shocking that he actually *might* have a chance to reach it. When looked at a year-by-year breakdown.

But I’m not any sort of “expert.”

channelclemente

This series of articles address the far more complex issue of pitcher aging and performance within and between seasons.

You have to use a non-linear expectation, given the nature of aging curves.

carmot

And how did I not do that?

channelclemente

Take the weighting coefficients for the aging curves, and apply them to whatever fit you’d like. IMO, a logistic, 4 parameter is the easiest and most flexible. It’s available on line for free in a sigma plot month free trial package.

DrLefty

I saw that. Holy cow. It even made me wonder if Cano can still back out. He doesn’t take his physical until tomorrow. On the other hand, I think I could probably put up with quite a lot of dysfunction for an extra $70 million.

Too bad for Kemp and/or Price if they get traded there–they can’t say no. But other free agents can.

Bapah

How could he or his agent not know about the culture? Don’t agents (even players) have a lot of inside info on teams and their organizations. It’s hard to believe there wasn’t “word on the street” since they’ve been crappy for a long time.

DrLefty

I’m on Twitter. Two Giants minor leaguers, Mac Williamson and Derek Law, were in a friendly competition last night trying to get to 1000 followers. They both did, and each selected one Twitter follower at random to win a prize to celebrate–and I won Mac’s! He’s sending me a pair of signed batting gloves. How fun is that?

I think he has to be one of my boys now along with Belt and Hembree and Blackburn.

DrLefty

It may be time for Niners fans to get their minds around the fact that Kaepernick was way, way overhyped last year. That doesn’t mean he’s a bad guy or not talented or that the 49ers can’t win with him.

But we may need to accept the reality that he’s good but not elite, capable but not special. Let’s remember that the only college that wanted him was Nevada and he was only a second-round draft pick. He’s not a disappointment (see Griffin, Robert III). He’s an overachiever.

The Niners are the Niners when they play great defense, when they let Gore be Gore, and when they get Vernon Davis into the game, too. The big mistake was ever thinking it could be all about Kap. The sooner we (and especially the coaches) get over that, the more we can enjoy the very fine all-around team–with a good but not great quarterback–that we do have.

Matthew

I truly think most reasonable Niner fans know it is about the team…much like Alex was a good, not great, Colin is good and not yet great. He is a second year starter and could develop much like others have had to (Bree’s is an example).

Most SB winners do so with great defense, good to great offense and good to great QB’s, such as Flacco, Eli, or back in the old days of Greise, or Dilfer, or Bradshaw.

It is medias job to overhype good and bad, and it’s a fans right to buy in or not. I still believe this young man has a possible upside that can make him reach great. He is not yet there. It is certainly WAY to early to make a judgment either way. But, I will say that his season last year was a revelation. Being a new season with many new challenges, the results are understandable and acceptable.

Matthew

Also, the lack of being recruited hardly limits the potential of greatness. There are many busts who were highly recruited and many stars who were not.

Shankbone

7 hitters in the nl: 249/307/381
8 hitters in the nl: 238/302/346

The Gigantes:

7: 257/303/336
8: 249/315/370

And that’s with Craw with a mangled set of fingers.

Your analysis is fake button. You seem to complain about a lot of stuff on this blog, I don’t check in that often. I’d advise less commenting and more research.

You are right on one thing: everybody wants to quote Cots contracts excel spreadsheet on salaries, and its wrong because they average in bonuses. You have to use their main page to get the right salaries.

The Giants offense will be fine. If it isn’t, they’ll fix it mid-season. Worrying about the 7/8 hitters is small pot’s. They have position advantage at 4 of 8 big time, 2 small time, and 2 are works in progress, with SS being a huge wasteland in MLB, and Crawford has his defensive chops to defend his inadequacies. Plus the mangled finger that messed up his stat line.

The Oracle

They have 240 million reasons not to care. The fact that they gave him the contract is proof itself that they have upper management problems.

Michael Scott

“not because you were sick!”

It’s not past tense. I’m withdrawing my support.

Michael Scott

Forget that. Good luck to you.

The Oracle

You’re right for the moment, and maybe for the future as well, but you’re speaking like Kaepernick is a finished product. He has a season-and-a-half worth of starts. It remains to be seen whether he will be merely capable, or something more.

Michael Scott

Thanks for the comment after my comments earlier. Now I feel like I’ve had leprosy, not cancers. See you on the other side.

The Oracle

Rudy Gay is highly overrated by anyone who rates him highly.

DrLefty

Maybe. But it’s hard not to compare him with his peers–Wilson and Luck. They’ve been in the league a full year less than Kap (I know he wasn’t starting the whole time, but he was around and learning), and they’re more finished products than he is.

Luck and Wilson have far more excuses than Kap does about “lack of weapons” to throw to. Luck’s receivers are awful. Wilson’s best guy (Harvin) has been out all year, and one of his TDs today was caught by a rookie drafted in the fifth round for his very first TD reception in the NFL. Kap’s had Boldin and Davis mostly all year and he now has Manningham and Crabtree. Wilson has Lynch, but Kap has Gore.

I’m inclined to think Kap’s biggest problem this year is the idiot coaching he’s been subjected to. I wanted to weep when relief when they FINALLY decided to let Gore make a difference in this HUGE game. And about damn time, I say.

DrLefty

Yep. I mentioned RGIII. For that matter, Alex was a “bust” for many years. I just meant that no one should think Kap is a disappointment if it turns out he’s a “good” QB on a very good team. That’s nothing to sneeze at. In fact, it’s a healthier way to build a successful team.

The Oracle

“Idiot” coaching? I sometimes disagree with what I see, but I don’t think idiots take a 10 loss team to the NFC Championship Game, then the Super Bowl, and now a possible 12 win season. Come on Lefty, what’s your deal?

DrLefty

Seriously? You think the offensive play-calling has been effective this season? The Niners have one of the worst passing attacks in the NFL. This was Gore’s first 100-yard game since Week 6. “My deal”? My deal is the same as thousands of other 49er fans, and most local and national writers, and it goes back to that horrendous sequence at the end of the Super Bowl.

I wouldn’t call this a successful season compared to the last two, even if they end up with 12 wins. They’re not going to win the division. They’re likely to have no home playoff games. Maybe they get hot and run the table in the playoffs (could happen) and redeem it all. But right now–this season looks like a regression.

In my opinion, they have too much talent to be barely hanging onto a playoff spot by their fingernails. And yes, I blame Harbaugh and especially Roman.

The Oracle

It’s no secret that you’re not a Harbaugh fan, but in no way does his performance as a coach qualify him as an “idiot.” There are many other NFL teams who’d love to have that idiot on their sideline.

Keep’n It Real

I’m not jumping in front of the train for Greg Roman, but 2 things are true with regard to the passing attack:

1. It’s been said more than a few times by NFL analysts that #7 hasn’t been good at looking for options other than the first *and* he holds on the ball too long. Greg Cosell validated everything Trent Dilfer said on this topic…that Kap got all defensive about.

Not saying “bust”, but there’s some work to do. I also think it wouldn’t be a bad thing if he looks at videos on how Montana, Young, Garcia, and Alex dealt with the press, Act like a jerk and they’ll treat you like one.

2. I still think the 49ers OL is extremely overrated in the passing game. Alex used to get blamed for the sacks, but the eye test…and the number of times #7 gets sacked…makes it hard not to place some blame here.

Matthew

Excellent use of ” what’s your deal”!

It’s pretty clear that Harbaugh’s style rubs some people the wrong way. To the point that many are not willing to acknowledge the remarkable success from the launch of his tenure. He is clearly mentoring Kap across the board, including media interaction. Kap is right to be wary, but does need to polish it up a bit. In the end, fans will judge on performance, but journalists often do not. They are a prickly bunch.

Sidewinder

Baseball, people. Baseball. Try to stay on point.

Who is Sabean targeting? Gardner or Ichiro. Or nobody and let’s start the season.

Matthew

As for Roman…an off year, and I’m not a fan. I thought it pretty self serving to crow to the media yesterday about his own brilliance at the end of the game calling. As a cynic, I say ” about time”… How do they say it? #FreeKap….I think he is starting to..the kid is a thoroughbred, so use him as such.

As for ” the deal”, like I said, some fans have a lot to get over before they embrace Jim, and it will take a Super Bowl win for many of them…and even then…
I appreciate the culture change he has instilled, which is TEAM, circle the wagons, tough, etc.

carmot

Ken Rosenthal
‏@Ken_Rosenthal

Francoeur seeking job as extra OFer. Recently had LASIK surgery. Also will abandon 35-ounce bat he used in ’13. Chris Davis only other one.

———————–

Remember this: Bochy said he told Francoeur to keep the Giants in mind this offseason…

Where we all have a soft underbelly. I greatly appreciated your remarks, it makes the folks I read here more accessible as human beings, and not just caricatures on a blog represented by an avatar. That’s important to me, to realize we’re all fellow travelers. Corny, but true, IMO, nonetheless.

Michael Scott

Well, they aren’t there anymore.I meant to show Clutch that the big “it” need not be given into. The resounding silence reminded me of how people boogie when “it” is discussed. I shouldn’t have said anything but when he talked about having chemo, I wanted to show how even when things seem hopeless, one may overcome it. Then I re-read and imagined the response- “Yeah, right.”
Now I’m embarrassed for being too “me, me,me” and realizing that it either made people uncomfortable or thought it was all BS. So again, mea culpa. How was the fried chicken?

channelclemente

I’ve talked at times to CU about such issues. Many of us have them. You did nothing to be concerned about, other than try and lend aid to another human being. In situations that are as frightening as his, not being alone is a big deal…but then I’m preaching to the choir.

I think the picture just looked to sinfully good, she tried to make amends. It was very good tasting, but more Cantonese than Southern Fried.

The Oracle

Francoeur is looking to pull a Derosa…which is being able to extend a career several seasons beyond when it should’ve ended, primarily as the result of being a nice guy.

Nate’sFanMom

What about Mark Trumbo? If the Giants are going to trade a good pitching prospect–and they have a surplus in that department—it should be for Trumbo.

But not Kyle Crick. We can’t have a repeat of the Wheeler fiasco.

Sidewinder

They say nice guys finish last. Is that true?

ClutchUp

I like how he shoots the ball

Sidewinder

They should focus on athletic outfielders. How about Dominic Brown? I don’t understand why the Phillies are open to trading him, but that rumor is out there. Isn’t he the guy that gave Brandon Belt hitting advice? Might as well have him around for that. I won’t pretend be a GM, so I don’t know what kind of package it would take.

ClutchUp

To use a musical analogy – it’s tougher to make your second album and have it be good compared to your first. Kaep’s first ‘album’ was a tremendous success. The league, human nature, blah, blah has led to this exact moment in time. NOBODY in football is worried about Kaep flaming out or being a bust – because his skill set, work ethic, practice habits in-total are exemplary. Other teams are GOOD also. 49er fanatics are like Giant-baseball fanatics: They want their team to win – because – well because they said so.

channelclemente

Have you looked at Wheeler’s line, he may have great potential, but he’s either keeping it a secret or it’s undeveloped.

ERA… 3.42
FIP….. 4.17
xFIP….4.21
K/9 …..7.56

100 innings. And Steamer doesn’t project any better next year. Time will tell, but maybe the legend is better than the reality.

channelclemente

Basically, Brown passed on what Charlie Manual taught him to Belt. Which is what Belt got from the Giants hitting instructors as well. Brown was the underwriter.

ClutchUp

A team schemes against another team. Match ups are explored. Match ups are better when team A plays team B in one game and then those same match ups are weaker in game #2 due to injuries and/or advance scouting/planning and haha conniving Gary Kubiak did not JUST forget how to coach. The Dallas BoyCows HC is not great – so much as his owner loves his panache. Timing is another factor=Marc Trestman became a legend in Canada and is now average in the NFL.
Yesterday Roman called a QB keeper in quarter one that was phenomenal and Kaep would have scored by the Seahawks defender clipped him down, then Miller was snuffed, then the Dawson Field Goal. The empty backfield designed Kaep roll to the left was another good Roman call-it was the SAME play Alex rolled left and scored vs. New Orleans in 2011. The Gore 51 yard run was a Roman call that they ‘saved’ until that moment when Seattle was over-persuing

ClutchUp

The talking baseball heads say Trumbo K’s a bit too much – but hey I’ll root for him as a Giant. They need 8 starting pieces that work together. No ONE player brings the hardware. Not Bonds, Pujols, Dave Winfield, Kirby Puckett nor Pete Rose. 8 core starting position players, a good starting staff and a great, shut down bullpen imo

DrLefty

We were at the game in September at Citi Field where Wheeler started against Petit. Wheeler completely unraveled in the second inning and walked four straight guys (the last was Petit!). He had 100 pitches by the 4th inning or so, and they pulled him. It was also the same day they had announced Matt Harvey was going to have Tommy John surgery, so I’m sure they were being hyper-careful with Wheeler. Still–it brought back memories of watching Jonathan Sanchez starts. Not in a good way.

DrLefty

As I recall, the “selling point” was that Brown assured Belt that the grip/stance change only took him a few days to adjust to. (It only took Belt about three days, too.) I think Belt was concerned that making a major in-season change was going to mess him up.

ClutchUp

Mychael Urban = Sports Columnist @ SF Examiner.

ClutchUp

Great add. Charlie Manual is one of the most revered hitting coaches in baseball in either league.

ClutchUp

Frenchy has some pixie dust in his back pocket. Timmy threw his no-no the day Francoeur arrived from Frezz

The Oracle

He hit like a pixie.

channelclemente

I’m not sure myself how Wheeler will mature, and develop, but he’s in about the absolute worst organization possible to bring along a young arm to it’s best outcome. To make the Mets worse in that regard, they’d have to hire Dusty Baker.

channelclemente

That’s pretty much the size of it, he needed reassurances to change from a player. I think the Giants hitting coach, drug him to the sit down with Brown.

ClutchUp

Yep, X Naidy had a bigger effect the year before.

Keep’n It Real

LMAO

ClutchUp

In honor of one who was Great and who will sign a one day TOR contract and retire.

“The Grip” is yet another piece of nonsense about Belt and the many supposed fixes to his hitting. With all of the other fixes, all of the batting cage sessions, all of revamping of his swing ( all of which he allegedly rebelled against)– the grip was all that ailed the rebellious ingrate? Total rot. One slump next year and it will be yet another newly discovered swing hole to be addressed- if he will only obey this time. He’s said all the right things but if you go far enough back in the history of this you’ll see his true reaction to the swing drama – “Whatever, dudes”…
This is an extremely talented player and he would be best served to get the heck out of Dodge..

channelclemente

It’s a nice narrative, but it’s yours and not Belts. But you are right in the sense of ‘this is what happens when fans get too close to a player’. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. Belt will win a batting title before he’s done. He’s got the makings of a phenomenal ballplayer.

Michael Scott

I’m right in the sense that I’m right. But I’ll echo Belt-“Whatever”..

Last Friday, Seattle heard that some team had bid 9 years, $225M for Cano. So the Mariners upped their offer to $240M, and 10 years…before apparently realizing, THEY were the team that made the initial bid.

No, their front office isn’t dysfunctional. Why would you ask? 😉

Michael Scott

I don’t even watch my own YouTube stuff. I have to give my wife a shower. See ya.

channelclemente

Absolute clarity, with as little reflection as possible.

DrLefty

I said “idiot coaching.” If you look at the context, it referred specifically to the play-calling as it pertains to Kaepernick and the offense. I was thinking mostly of Greg Roman. I didn’t specifically mean just Harbaugh or even primarily him, but as head coach–the buck stops with him.

And it’s true, I’m no Harbaugh fan, but that aside–do you really believe the 49ers’ offense has been a success story this season?

channelclemente

Moronic, then. Who was Cano’s agent, he dropped Boras. Wasn’t the former hip-hop king?

ClutchUp

Jay Z and his dutiful wife Beyonce

Bapah

It seems to me that given the apparent disfunctionality of Seattle AND JZee, perhaps Cano (he DID drop Boras) fits right in with both and will love it in the dysfuntional northwest. It could happen. A match made in heaven?

channelclemente

Well there you go.

ClutchUp

He’s staying …

ClutchUp

Disqus swooped in and adiosed my post on congratulating Torre and Larussa and Bobby C because of Bobby C’s last name, the way is sounds similar to that umpire last year named Cliff “Faygan” and or RA D1ckey.

Sigh, Congrats to the 3 amigos.

avwh

Dutiful or booty-full?? 😉

Keep’n It Real

Henry Schulman ‏@hankschulman1m
#brewers, who are casting a wide net for first basemen, have asked about Brett Pill. Not sure what MIL could offer back. #sfgiants

The Dodgers are sooooo going to try and sign him as a FA next year, They need a 3B. Maybe we’ll sign THEIR #22 😉

Michael Scott

I’d guess that maybe 1 in 10 blog commenters have given him any credit at all for taking on a conditioning regimen on his own.Much of the thinking goes “about time”- which has some validity, but do we incarcerate people *after* they get straight? No- we praise them for their effort. And until we have proof to the contrary, Pablo deserves the same praise. Or at the very least, the benefit of the doubt, And he’s just a ball player, not a criminal.

carmot

I linked this story before, but here’s the before-and-after Camp Panda v1.0. Circa 2011.

Michael Scott

He doesn’t look 275 on the left. He looks 240 without his stomach sucked in.He also looks handsome on the right. A real heart throb..

ClutchUp

Amen! There are many people in various fields and walks of life that battle the battle he is working on. Yahoo’s say “Oh he’s making a gazillion dollars” Eff that. He’s not trying to pi$$ people off, he’s just got the heebie-jeebs when it comes to food. Sadly there are more people walking the planet at his former weight (280) than at 240 – 190.

ClutchUp

You cant see him from the rear

Anti-Lasorda

Too bad they already offloaded Aoki….

Anti-Lasorda

First song I learned to play, and the intro is still one of my warm up riffs,,,,,

Posey working on lower body strength, will continue with similar catching workload. Bochy said he views Belt as 150+ game/year starter at 1B,

pacman68

I would take Morse or Corey Hart at this time. No platoon.

carmot

Their roster construction is a joke. Every single starter is a RHB since they traded Aoki. The only other Brewer with more than 25 PA’s as lead-off hitter was Rickie Weeks (66 PA):
.197 avg/.254 obp/.348 slg/.602 ops

Now Melvin is considering Carlos Gomez at lead-off since he did it like 5 years ago. All to get a lefty arm for Aoki. lol.

Andrew Baggarly ‏@CSNBaggs2m
I’m told #SFGiants called 3 times on Norichika Aoki. Sabean & Melvin are tight, too. But Brewers got P they wanted from KC and went for it.

channelclemente

we fiddle while Alex moves on.

channelclemente

Right = ballplayer,
left = bridge piling guard

channelclemente

Shhh, remember Aptos.

channelclemente

I gave him the benefit of the doubt, for years, he lost it in a crapp game.

ClutchUp

Surf City gave us up-to-date reports 😉

Michael Scott

I’d bet all of us have relatives who fought the weight battle and lost weight and gained it back, tried again and lost it again- and gained it back again.In fact, no way there are not big time fatsos among us- probably Panda’s biggest detractors. Athlete, truck driver, secretary *doctor*, it’s not easy for anybody- rich or poor. So be a “sucker”- better than being a cynic.

ClutchUp

That’s a tad harsh Pac!

Michael Scott

Got your E-Mail, I’ll get back to you, probably tomorrow. I’ll tell you this now- the length of time since your diagnosis probably bodes well as to your chances of beating it.

carmot

“Choo is expected to command a deal in the seven-year, $125-150 million deal.” Gee golly, that’s crazy. Sure, Cotillo might be able to work on his sentence construction, but can’t we all? Who am I to judge? Guy is still in high school and doing awesome work.

What part of that is worth that much money. He’s a platoon player, IMO.

ClutchUp

Maybe Larry Baer would put a real choo-choo train in and around the Coke bottle and charge visitors to the park to ride. Might be able to afford him. Reminds me of a thinner, more athletic Matsui – in his then prime. Not much impresses me about baseball players other than they actually made it to the SHOW. All the other levels are like Tee ball compared to MLB. What I love about Choo is the way he hustles out of the batters box.

DrLefty

I’m not a sucker. But I AM impressed that he looks that good and it’s only Dec. 9.

Sigh. I wish I had (a) a brother who’s a chef (b) another brother who serves as my personal trainer and (c) a nine-figure incentive to be in tip-top shape. I’d be amazing.

The Oracle

I wouldn’t sign my aunt to a multi-year, big money contract. If the Giants don’t trade Sandoval, he shows up to spring training in shape and the Giants contend, they won’t trade him during the season. They’ll then have three choices :
1) let him walk for nothing;
2) big money qualifying offer;
3) get suckered into a multi-year deal for a guy that only cares about conditioning when money is on the line.
He’s already fooled the Giants once.

DrLefty

The Giants should take the plunge one way or the other, now that he’s lost a bunch of weight again. Either extend him or trade him. Don’t just let him walk and sign with the Dodgers!

DrLefty

I definitely give him credit. Even with a chef and a trainer, there’s still a psychological battle to fight.

DrLefty

Well, with respect to your aunt, she’s not as young as she used to be, so she probably can’t play 3B for the Giants.

Michael Scott

I’m not looking it up, but I believe that despite his Mendoza-like batting average against LHers, he still had something like a .340 or so OBP against them.

Michael Scott

I don’t recall saying they’d sign him to a long term, and probably no one else will ether. But it depends on whether you consider 3 years long term, I don’t. If he has a big year, he’ll probably get something like 3 years at 15 per.
” that only cares about conditioning when money is on the line.” Short memory- he’s tried before.

The Oracle

Not that short a memory. His last good, in-shape season was in his last contract year. Didn’t he even say last year that he wouldn’t start focusing on conditioning until 2014?

Michael Scott

As anybody knows, some people can gain weight just looking at food. I don’t recall any articles detailing what his normal diet was. I do recall some photos of him with some kids and a big ice cream sundae. It was for some kind of charity that he and the kids would share it. But many bloggers made a BFD saying he was going to eat it all, citing as proof that he was a glutton. He’s been maligned overweight or in shape- it’s a full time job for many.

Anti-Lasorda

Ellsbury’s price and Choo in these numbers makes Pence look like a STEAL….. all 25 of them.

South City Jim

Not sure if folks have been wondering where I’ve been. Well, the past seven weeks or so have been something of a nightmare. In early October Winnie started limping. We initially thought it was arthritis or perhaps an injury so we started laser therapy. After a couple of weeks it really wasn’t working so they did a full set of x-rays and found cancer in her left hip. (We did a full set of precautionary x-rays back in March and everything was fine then.) The cancer grew like a weed and was in an inoperable area. I wasn’t going to put my baby through an ordeal that would likely have resulted in amputating her rear left leg. It got to the point where she could no longer go #1 or #2 and we put her down on the blackest of Black Fridays. I think about her everyday but everyday gets a little easier. As I said back in September when she appeared healthy, and I’ll say here again, she will remain my gravatar from now and forever. Gave me the best 10 1/2 years of my life and I will always believe that she helped the G’s in her own little way to winning two WS championships.

Life goes on. Nothing will cheer me up better than baseball in February. I haven’t been able to really get excited about the hot stove league but I support everything the G’s have done so far. Especially Hudson. Guy is a bulldog. I’ll be checking in periodically as the off-season progresses and there’s more to talk about. Take care all.

Anti-Lasorda

Got a blockbuster for y’all to consider. Especially since current scuttlebutt is Uribe is pricing himself out of LA.
What about trading Pablo straight up for Kemp?
I know on the surface it sounds crazy, but consider. The Dodger need to unload the $124M+ they have in Kemp and they need a 3rd baseman bad.

I know they Dodgers would prefer to unload Ethier, but Kemp’s shoulder and the uncertainity he will ever regain the 2011 form that should have won him the MVP remain. Maybe Ned decides that the dollars committed and the injury risk are too much and 86’s Kemp instead. Show Ned that slim and trim Pablo pictures, let he rewatch Game 1 of the 2012 WS (which he was in the house for) and maybe, just maybe he bites.

Despite the “not within the division” crap that is sure to be brought up, I could argue it makes sense for both clubs AND Ned and Brian are still friends.

Foothills Ryan

So sorry to hear
You have been missed, your absence noted, and all are surely glad you are okay. Many condolences to you and yours.

ClutchUp

Whew. Thanks for the update Jim! Winnie will be missed and treasured. We’re here for you.

pacman68

I love it!!!

JStreet

Good to hear from you Jim. Take your time, we’re all sorry to know about Winnie id guess most here have or have had (or both) a special creature that has enhanced our very existence. And from the day we start taking care of them, we probably figure to outlast them. But that sure doesn’t soften the pain when they ate missed.

I agree with you that dogs help us in our own endeavors, so there no doubt she helped the Gs win both WS. How could she not?

That’s the late (and great) Salty partially shown in my avatar. My favorite pic of him. He was about 17 years old when he left us in January of 2012, and he made it to quite a few ballparks both large and small. Maybe they can review the frantic joy of their own pennant races on another plane

pacman68

It’s not harsh Clutch. I’m tired of athletes getting themselves in shape for one year so they can cash in cause some sap will sign them. No doubt in my mind that Pablo will be in great shape this year. But next and beyond? No way.

Matthew

I would do it in record time… As silly as Ned can be, I’m not sure he would be so bold, even given his fascination with all things Giants

DrLefty

In tears here. So sorry, Jim.

Matthew

Jim, though I am glad to hear from you here, I am so sad to read the story…my sweet Sydney, who we lost last January, will give Winnie a tail wag and kiss when they meet up in doggie heaven. Though time will allow you to get past the harsh and sudden pain, you will never forget your Winnie.

I promise in game 1 when our boys win…we will all know it will be dedicated to WINNIE!

channelclemente

Gosh, how many people have yellow labs here. I, for one, do.

pacman68

My sentiments go out to you Jim. Sorry for your loss. I lost Killer last year and still miss her everyday. Much love.

channelclemente

So did Blanco, against both LHP, and RHP. It’s Blanco’s home and away splits against LHP that kills him, BA down maybe 60-70 points. Can’t he find a bathroom he likes to read in on the road.

Foothills Ryan

Seeing this guy tomorrow night at historic Fresno theater. See if you can spot this one from ‘Presence’. This one goes out to SCJ:

Me–same name as Jim’s dearly departed. She’ll be 9 on Valentine’s Day.

DrLefty

Our dog before Winnie was Bruce, a black lab and chow mix. He was SUCH a good boy. He put up with a lot from puppy Winnie and lived to a good old age. He’s definitely there with Sydney and Jim’s Winnie.

channelclemente

That, by my boot count, is 6, I think. Wonder what that says about Giants fans?

South City Jim

Thanks for the kind words everybody. I hope Winnie is up in doggy heaven playing with all the other GE blogger dogs that passed before her. Just one of the many reasons this is the best blog on the web. You guys rock. Footy, enjoy the show. Watching that link took me back to seeing Robin Trower at Winterland in the late 70’s. I’m going to check JB out. Love that stuff.

I’m so sorry to learn of this news SCJ. Sad times indeed. I had my dog taken from me much, much too early- just a couple years ago. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t miss her. Like you, she gave me the best 10 years.

Dogs, or our other friendly animal companions, give us something so pure and so joyful. It is interaction and love unlike anything else. Wishing you the best through your difficult time. Holding a good thought for you and yours. Cheers.

dgg

I can’t hold back the tears. I’m so sorry for your loss, Jim. Winnie looks so sweet and calm. Such a steady companion and very much beloved.